Holi foods that can be adulterated

Holi arrives in two days, and everyone is excited for the annual feasting and celebration to begin. Chhoti Holi will be on Thursday, March 1st, and Holi will be on Friday, March 2nd.

This holiday is a perfect excuse to indulge in all kinds of delicious foods, such as dahi bhallas, gujiyas, and kachoris.

However, since people like to indulge in so many sweets and snacks during Holi, many people have fears of adulterated foods getting into the mix.

Adulterated foods can be very unhygienic, and they can do serious harm to one’s health and body in the long run. These are four traditional Holi foods that can be adulterated, and they should only be bought from trusted places.

Gujiyas are trademark Holi treats. These traditional snacks are fried dough packets that are stuffed with khoya, coconut, and jaggery.

Not only can the fried dough and the sugar in gujiyas be adulterated, but the filling of gujiyas can be adulterated as well.

For example, sulfur dioxide is often used to brighten the color of jaggery, but an overdose of sulfur dioxide can seriously harm the body.

Puran polis are Holi favorites in Maharashtra, which are flat breads filled with cardamom, nutmeg, and sweet lentil.

However, while traditional puran polis contain equal parts of whole wheat flour and refined wheat flour, shops can often use old, stale refined wheat flour for their puran polis.

Various artificial flavors, artificial colors, and chemicals can also be added to these sweets.

Both kulfi and thandai are in danger of being adulterated because they are both made with milk.

Milk is often adulterated by starch, but it can also be adulterated by Metanil Yellow and Sodium Bicarbonate.

Iodine can detect the presence of starch, and hydrochloric acid can detect the presence of Metanil Yellow and sodium bicarbonate.

Since both thandai and kulfi have large amounts of milk, it is better to get them from trusted vendors, in order to ensure that the milk used to make them has not been adulterated.

Image Credit: Image by kuldeepnegibombay from Pixabay (Free for commercial use)

Image Reference: https://pixabay.com/photos/mango-kulfi-dessert-ice-cream-5549586/