News India Live, Digital Desk: Desi ghee has a special and sacred place in Indian kitchens. Be it adding tadka to dal, applying ghee on rotis or making prasad for God, every work seems incomplete without pure desi ghee. But with the increasing demand in the market, the black business of adulteration in ghee is also flourishing rapidly. In the greed of profit, many companies are adding vegetable (dalda), boiled potatoes, starch and even harmful chemicals to ghee. This adulterated and fake ghee can make you a victim of serious diseases internally. Keeping in mind the health of the general public, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has shared some very simple and scientific ways to easily identify the purity of ghee at home. Let us know how you can identify real and fake ghee in your own kitchen, without any expensive lab.

Palm Test This is the most basic and easiest way to check the purity of ghee. Pure desi ghee starts melting very quickly at the normal temperature of our body. Place half a spoon of ghee on your palm and look carefully for a few seconds. If the ghee melts immediately and becomes liquid and there is no stickiness in it, then your ghee is absolutely genuine and pure. At the same time, if ghee takes a long time to melt, remains frozen on the palm or you feel sticky when you rub it, then understand that vegetable (hydrogenated fat) or any other cheap oil has been adulterated in it.

Identify real or fake instantly with Heat Test If you have even a little doubt about the quality of ghee, then take some ghee in a vessel or a big spoon and heat it on low flame on the gas. If the ghee immediately melts and turns dark brown in color and a sweet, roasted and natural aroma starts coming from it, then it is 100% pure desi ghee. On the contrary, if the ghee takes more time than required to melt, after melting its color becomes light yellow and a lot of foam starts forming in it, then it is a clear sign that the ghee you are eating is fake and adulterated.

‘Iodine test’ to detect adulteration of starch and potatoes Often, to increase the quantity of ghee and make it appear grainy like the original, adulterators add starch of sweet potato or boiled potato to it. According to FSSAI, ‘Iodine test’ at home is most effective to detect this dangerous adulteration. For this, take one spoon of melted ghee in a transparent glass bowl. Now add 2-3 drops of Iodine Tincture in it and mix it well. If the color of ghee changes to blue or purple after adding iodine, then it is a sure proof that the ghee has been heavily adulterated with starch. The color of pure cow or buffalo ghee does not change at all even after adding iodine.

FSSAI’s ‘Acid Test’ for identification of vegetation (Dalda) Adulteration of vegetable or hydrogenated fat in ghee is most dangerous for health, which directly affects your cholesterol and heart. FSSAI has suggested a special method to catch it. Take 1 ml of melted ghee in a transparent test tube or small glass vessel. Add 1 ml hydrochloric acid (HCl) and half teaspoon common sugar in it. Now stir this mixture vigorously for about 2 minutes and leave it for some time. If the color of the lower part of the vessel (the layer containing acid) becomes red or dark pink, then the ghee is adulterated with vegetable matter. If there is no change in color, then your ghee is completely safe and pure to eat.