Asmall piece of gur (jaggery) is very good for your health and it is often recommended to add a bit of it to your daily diet. But the question arises about the purity of jaggery as adulteration in it is very common. The quality of jaggery available in the market is often compromised, as the shopkeeper makes a lot of profit but eating adulterated jaggery can harm your health.
But how to know that the gur you are consuming is authentic and not adulterated? Well, here are some ways that you may adopt to check the adulteration in jaggery:
Check the taste
To find out if the jaggery is real or fake, check the jaggery by tasting it. The taste of real jaggery is extremely sweet. On the other hand, fake jaggery seems discoloured, salty and bitter.
Put it in water
Take a glass of transparent water. Now, add 10 grams of the sample to it. If the jaggery is mixed with chalk, the adulterant will settle down at the bottom of the glass.
Check the colour
One should always prefer dark brown or black coloured jaggery as it is usually chemical-free. Dark-coloured jaggery is organic and chemical-free. This is simply because when sugarcane juice is boiled, it leaves a dark brown mixture which is used to make jaggery. The addition of chemicals to this mixture makes the jaggery white in appearance. Take half a teaspoon of jaggery, add six millilitres of alcohol to it and then mix well. Then add 20 drops of concentrated hydrochloric acid to it. If the jaggery changes to pink then it means that artificial colours have been added.
Benefits of eating jaggery
Jaggery is considered to be the best source of iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus and vitamin C. Consumption of jaggery thus helps to cover up for the nutrient deficiency in the body as well as strengthen the digestive system. Jaggery even helps to control the blood pressure of the body. Its consumption is even good for people who want to lose a few kilos.
