Jaggery/Gur: How to Check Its Purity and Quality?Jaggery/Gur: How to Check Its Purity and Quality?

Jaggery Benefits: These days, finding the right and authentic product has become very difficult. It takes a village to make sure that the product is pure and good. And so is finding the right and good quality jaggery or gur. Jaggery is a traditionally unrefined form of sugar and is well known for its health benefits: helps excellent digestion, is a rich source of iron and Vitamin C, helps in the circulation of blood and a lot more. Jaggery also helps in keeping our bodies warm during extremely chill days. But how do we know that what gur we are consuming is authentic or is not mixed?

Adulteration has become a child’s play. It is now easy to cheat and fool consumers by selling a lower quality product at a sky-rocketing price. Not only this, but adulteration has also led to many health issues and unhygienic conditions. But we have got you covered! 

Here’s an easy way to identify authentic jaggery and ways to check the purity:

• What Exactly is Jaggery or Gur?

Jaggery is made out of sugarcane by boiling raw and concentrated sugarcane juice. It is used as a sweetener. Sugarcane juice is boiled for a few hours, water is added to the moulds, and then, gives time to cool down and harden. This is also a healthy alternative to white sugar as gur has a superior nutritional profile. What not to forget is, the calories content of both gur and white sugar is the same. Jaggery is made through the boiling of sugarcane whereas white sugar goes through several processes and one of them is crystallisation before it is packed for consumption

• What is the best season to consume Jaggery?

Jaggery produces a lot of heat, hence health experts have advised and recommended consuming jaggery only during winter. During heated seasons, problems of stomach problems can arise. Hence, it is better to have minimal consumption of jaggery during warm seasons.

• How to check the purity of jaggery?

“Generally a good quality jaggery should have the right colour, good flavour and hardness,” says Chef Reetu Uday Kugaji, the Culinary Expert and Food Blogger. It is very important to check for purity whenever you go out to buy jaggery.

• A few of Chef Reetu’s suggestions are here:

1.  Taste a piece of jaggery. If it tastes slightly salty, then it indicates that a high concentration of mineral salts is involved. The easy way out is, the older the jaggery gets, the saltier it becomes.
2. If you taste any sort of bitterness, it means that jaggery has gone through the caramelisation during the boiling process.
3. If you find crystals, it means that jaggery has gone through other processes of sweetness too. Look out!
4. The Colour of the jaggery is dark brown. The colour also plays a role in determining purity. If the gur appears in yellowish, it may have undergone chemical treatment.
5. It is always recommended to buy hard jaggery, it means that there are no additives added during the process of boiling the sugarcane juice.

Make sure to keep these points in mind before you go out for jaggery shopping!

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How to Differentiate Iodised Salt With Adulterated Common Salt?

It is easier to pass off adulterated food items these days. Salt is one of the most important kitchen ingredients. It is needed in every food prepared for getting the taste and flavour. Experts are recommending iodised salt as it helps in curing and fighting iodine deficiency disorder (IDD). The presence of iodine ensures growth of the body, maintaining body temperature and the development of the brain.

The Government of India has created a program to control iodine deficiency under National Iodine Deficiency Disorders. This is an attempt to iodise all edible salts in the country. According to Food Adulteration Act, iodised salt should not be less than 30 ppm and the consumer level should be above 15ppm. Even though these parameters are set, not many brands follow them. 

Adulterated food item consumption is injurious to health. They can lead to chronic health diseases too. However, you can detect if your iodised salt is adulterated or not with a simple test.

Recently, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) shared a video on Twitter, carrying out a simple test to identify between an iodised and adulterated salt.

Cut a potato into two pieces.
• Apply salt on both the cut surfaces and wait for a minute.
• Add a drop of lemon to both samples.
• It will be a double fortified salt if the potato does not change its colour.
• If the colour changes to blue, the iodised salt is adulterated.

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Vella cheedai / sweet cheedai

This is one of the specialties which we make for Janmshtami/ Gokulashtami. It is little difficult to make, provided you follow the instructions carefully. I just love it, made some, came out crisp. Unlike its other part, uppu cheedai/ salted cheedai, which becomes crisp on taking out, the sweet one, becomes crisp as it gets cold !

We need urad dal flour, just like we need for salted cheedai / murruku, just little but it is needed.

To make urad dal flour, roast urad dal till golden, cool and powder fine in your mixer jar.

For 1 level cup/ glass of rice flour, urad dal flour should be put on top to make a heap, roughly comes to about 2heaped tbsp for a small glass of rice flour.

INGREDIENTS

rice flour 1 cup ( rice flour needs to be roasted on low flame stirring all the time till you can draw a nice straight line, then cool)

urad dal flour appr. 2 heaped tbsp

sesame seeds/ til 1 tbsp

ghee 1 tbsp if your cup is small, or another 1/2-1 tbsp according to the size of your glass/ cup.

water to knead

gur/ jaggery/ vellam 3/4 cup ( the same cup in which you measured rice flour)

water little to make syrup

oil for frying

METHOD

in a bowl, add rice flour, urad dal flour, til, ghee

in a pan / kadai add gur little water, once it melts completely, strain to remove the impurities

wash the pan, put the strained syrup and keep cooking till it can be rolled into a ball once you drop it in a small cup of ordinary water, once you can roll, pour it quickly over the ingredients, mix well with the spoon/ spatula you're using, mix well. In the pan in which you made syrup, add water, as once you mix the ingredients well and you're able to handle it with your hand, knead well, adding the jaggery water to become a smooth dough, even if you've added little more water by mistake, don't worry, as it gets cold, it thickens ! Keep this covered for roughly 20-30 minutes.

This rolling the syrup in water, is the consistency one needs to make peanut/ pottukadali , pori urundai also.

heat the oil after 30 minutes, just the required quantity needed, as too much oil heated being reused isn't good for health.

as the oil gets hot on medium heat, knead the dough and roll into small marble sized balls without a crack. Once the oil is hot, put one to check how it goes, don't turn it as soon as you put, as it will break. Wait at least for0 seconds on low heat, turn it gently, let it get dark brown on both sides, these balls, once it cracks that means it is done, strain on kitchen paper and remove.

Now once the 1st one is done properly, you can put 6-8 balls at a time to fry on low-medium heat, don't be in a haste to turn it. once it is dark brown strain and remove on paper to drain well. It may not sound crisp, don't panic, as it gets cold it will get crisp.

Good luck to all, fry all in the same way.

Happy Janmashtami/ Gokulashtami to all.

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6 Types of Food That Are Often Faked to Be Wary Of

Shocking as it may sound, it could be that your favorite restaurant is tricking you into thinking that you’re eating a dish of a finer quality than you actually are. Food fraud is a $50 billion global industry, and you could be buying into the scam without even realizing it. Here are the dishes that you should be wary of when ordering at a restaurant:

1. Kobe Beef

Although Kobe beef has become revered around the world for being probably the finest-quality beef money can buy, the truth is that the supply of it is so small that 99% of what’s purported to be Kobe beef in fact isn’t. The only way to tell if you’re eating real Kobe beef is if you’ve paid top dollar for it. Genuine Kobe beef costs something in the region of $150 per pound… 

 

2. Truffles fake-foods

These things are so rare and expensive that you’re almost certain to encounter fake truffle mushrooms and truffle oils at restaurants. Just like Kobe beef, this is because there’s a highly limited supply. Unless you’ve seen a truffle actually being shaved in front of you, you’re almost guaranteed to be served something else.

3. Wasabi

If you happen to be a sushi lover that loves to slather wasabi all over the place, then you’re in for some bad news. At a lot of restaurants, the stuff that’s supposed to be wasabi is usually a combination of horseradish, mustard and food coloring. You might get a tiny little bit of real wasabi mixed in there if you’re lucky. Real wasabi is distinguishable by its taste – it should taste “herbal”, be hot but without a burning aftertaste, and taste smooth. 

 

4. Red Snapper

An extensive test was conducted on the supply of red snapper in restaurants around the world, and it found that some 94% of all fish purported to be red snapper was actually something else entirely. As a rule of thumb, you should always see the fish you’re about to eat displayed to you whole before you order. Even then, you’re still running the risk of it being a different breed of fish, but it’s entirely up to you if you take the chance. 

 

5. Lobster

As shocking as it may seem to think that you’re being served fake lobster, it’s far from being unheard of. If you’re eating at a chain restaurant, you’re likely to be eating langostino, which is a mix of crab and shellfish. The only way to ensure that you’re eating real lobster is to head to a family-owned restaurant by the sea in a port town. 

 

6. Grouper

Real grouper is absolutely delicious, but it’s often the case that you’ll find restaurants trying to pass off cheaper fish, such as Asian catfish, tilapia and hake, as grouper. As with the red snapper mentioned above, always make sure that you’re shown a whole fish before ordering.

 

 

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16 Highly Unusual Uses For Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola (or Coke) is the most recognized brand in the world. The dark, carbonated, sugary beverage has become the most widely consumed drink in the world since WWII. There are many studies and documentaries showing the ill effects of Coke on the human body, but this addictive drink has other, more beneficial uses that the Coca-Cola Company may not want you to know:

1. Remove stains from china

Soak stained china in Coke for a few hours, and it will remove all the stains. 

 

2. Remove marker stains from a carpet  

Pour Coke on the marker stain, and then scrub it with a soapy solution for a quick and easy cleanup.

3. Clean burnt residue off of pots and pans

Pour enough Coke to cover the burnt residue in the pot/pan and let it soak overnight. You’ll be amazed how easily the gunk comes off in the morning. 

 

4. Get rid of grease stains your detergent can’t handle  

Pour some Coke into the washing machine with your greasy clothes and see the magic - the acidic liquid will make sure your clothes come out cleaner than even your detergent can provide. 

 

5. Diet Coke can fix a bad hair-dye job

Did you accidentally botch up your hair dye? Just soak your hair in Diet Coke for 15 minutes and watch the dye fade away. 

 

6. Strip paint from metallic surfaces 

Soak a towel with Coke and leave it on the painted metallic surface for several hours. When you remove the towel – the paint will come off with it.  

 

7. Keep your car battery working for longer

If your car battery’s terminals are covered in corrosion, pour Coke on it and watch how the corrosion melts away. 

 

8. Effective slug pesticide  

If your garden is experiencing a slug infestation, pour Coke into a bowl and leave it outside overnight. The sugar will draw them in, and the acidity will kill them. 

 

 9. Remove grout from tiles with ease

Pour Coke on gritty tiles and let it sit for a few minutes. The grout should be easily removed now, leaving you with clean tiles. 

 

10. Clean your toilet 

Pour a can of Coke into your toilet and leave it overnight. The acidity in the Coke will strip off any nasty residue that has accumulated in the bowl. 

 

11. Make old coins shine again coca-cola-uses

Soak dirty coins in Coke for a few hours and then rinse them – they’ll look like they were minted yesterday. 

 

12. Coke + aluminum foil = clean chrome 

Pour Coke on dirty chrome surfaces, and then wipe away with aluminum foil. The chrome will look shiny and new again. 

 

13. Coke makes for an effective insect repellent

Pour a can into a bowl and leave it outside for an hour before you entertain. When your party arrives, move the bowl away and enjoy an insect-free environment. The bugs will be too busy with the Coke to harass your friends. 

 

14. Remove blood stains from clothes 

Soak the bloody part in Coke for an hour, and then wash it away. (Repeat if necessary) 

 

15. Clean up oil stains from floors

If your car leaves oil stains on the garage floor, get it fixed. Afterwards, pour some Coke on the stains and let it soak for a few hours, then rinse it off with some water. 

 

16. Get rid of gum stuck in your hair  

Soak the gum in Coke for 15 minutes and simply wipe it away.

 

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