Vegetarian Crackers from Flower of Squash and Blue Ternate

Abstract

Nowadays, there is a growing global need for a more wholesome and nourishing snack. The demand for snack foods like crackers has soared, especially among children. However, certain foods include excessive amounts of sugar, salt, and fats, endangering the consumer's health. Due to the therapeutic and restorative qualities of certain veggies, crackers infused with these vegetables form a functional food. In order to make crackers, this study used squash and blue ternate flowers.

The goals of this study were to identify the level of sensory qualities of vegetarian crackers made from squash and blue ternate flowers in terms of appearance, aroma, color, taste, texture, and general acceptability; to identify the product that would be most popular; and to identify any significant differences between treatments in terms of appearance, aroma, color, taste, texture, and general acceptability.

The blue ternate and squash flowers were cleaned, weighed, cooked, and ground before being combined with other ingredients to make crackers. Treatment B (squash flower) and Treatment C (blue ternate flower) were the experimental groups, and the mixture was reproduced three (3) times. Treatment A was the control with no flower added.

 Five members of the faculty who teach courses connected to food, five students majoring in food service management, and five consumers served as the evaluators. They used score cards with a nine-point Hedonic scale to conduct sensory evaluations of the finished product.

 The study's findings showed that the product in Treatment B (the squash flower) was superior in terms of sensory qualities and more palatable, followed by that in Treatment C (the blue ternate flower), which is practically equivalent to Treatment A (the control/no flower added). Significant variations across treatments were observed for sensory attributes such taste and color, favoring Treatment A.

In order to add nutritional value to the food product, culinary experts and developers may use locally accessible vegetable flowers like squash and blue ternate. Squash and blue ternate crackers from vegetable flowers have the potential to be commercially successful, especially with consumers who are health aware.