Spices can turn ordinary food into delightful dishes with just a dash of being added. A tiny sprinkle will make the not-so-good tasteless food to be a gratifying meal. It is not surprising to find Indian spices online anymore as they are famous worldwide. But food adulteration has also become a reality. You can not open a packet in the supermarket and check if they are sub-standard.
Consequently, we have put together some techniques that will let you test the quality in the comfort of your home.
Turmeric Powder
The yellow spice turmeric is readily available online and in stores. To check for its quality, you can put a spoonful in warm to hot water. Without stirring, leave it on its own for a while. The spice is pure if the turmeric settles down to the bottom without changing the colour. However, if the water becomes cloudy, there is a chance of adulteration with chalk powder or lead.
Red Chilli
Red chilli, the hot spice, can be an adulterated version as well. Just like turmeric, add a spoon to water for testing the purity. Red-coloured water with gritty sedimentation at the bottom indicates there is spice-adulteration. It could be a brick powder or sawdust along with artificial colour additives.
Cumin Seeds And Powder
It is a common scenario to get the best Indian spices online and offline nowadays. To check for cumin powder purity, add a spoonful to a glass of water. After some time, you will notice the pure spice will settle at the bottom with any additive floating on top.
Take a tiny amount of cumin seeds to check for the quality of the cumin seeds. Rub the seeds in between your palm vigorously. These seeds are impure if you notice your palm turning grey or black.
Black Pepper
Black peppercorns black in colour, which makes it easy to mix them with similar seeds. Mostly adulterated have papaya seeds mixed along with black peppercorns. Add a spoonful to a bowl of clear alcohol. Papaya seeds will settle on the bottom, and the natural corns will float on top.
Mustard Seeds
Mustard seeds often have argemone seeds that look similar. Argemone seeds are rough to touch and are white inside when you crush them. Take a spoon of mustard seeds and crush them one by one, mustard seeds will be yellow, and argemone seeds will be white inside.
Asafoetida or Hing Powder
Soapstone addition makes for impure asafoetida or hing powder. Mix a pinch of asafoetida into a bowl of water and leave it alone for five minutes. The asafoetida impurities will settle down at the bottom of the water bowl.
Conclusion
It is wise to say that it is better safe than to be sorry and consume adulterated spices. The purity of spices can make them taste way different and better from the adulterated version. Put your local spices to test their purity to rule out bad from the good quality spices. To buy good quality Indian spices online, look no further than www.pansarimasala.com.