Spices add unique tastes and aromas, but their high cost attracts counterfeiters. Unfair manufacturers mix cheaper ingredients or replace expensive spices with synthetic counterparts. Let's find out which seasonings are most common and how to recognize fake.
Shafran is the most expensive spice in the world
Saffron is obtained from crocus flowers, and its cost can reach tens of thousands of dollars per kilogram. That is why it is often forged by adding safflower, cloves, calendula leaves or using artificial dyes. How to check? Soak a few saffron threads in hot water. Natural saffron gradually color the liquid in golden color and retains its structure, and fake quickly gives away the dye and dissolves.
Cinnamon - Cassia instead of real
Most cinnamon on store shelves is a cassia that has a less sophisticated taste and contains more coumarin, which can be too harmful to the liver. How to check?
- True Ceylon cinnamon has multilayered, brittle sticks, while Cassia is thicker and stiffer.
- Drop iodine on powder: Ceylon cinnamon is painted in blue and Cassia is dark blue.
Turmeric is painted fake
Cheap turmeric is diluted with flour, starch, chalk or clay. Sometimes artificial dyes are added to enhance the color. How to check? Add the turmeric to the water: the natural product does not leave sediment, and the fake falls into the precipitate.
Ground pepper - a mixture with impurities
To black pepper can be added husks, seeds of other plants or even flour. How to check? Add a spoonful of ground pepper to the water: natural pepper swims or slowly settles, and fake dissolves or forms a precipitate.
Vanilla and vanillin are expensive spice and its analogue
The real vanilla is expensive, so it is often replaced by synthetic vanillin or starch and dyes. How to check? The real vanilla has a complex, multilayered aroma, while vanillin is sharp and monotonous. Natural vanilla powder has a dark brown color and insoluble in water.
Cardamom - Fake with painting
Often, cardamom is mixed with cheaper counterparts or painted to make it look fresh. How to check?
- The real cardamom has a strong spicy aroma with citrus notes.
- Natural pods are not too bright, and painted can have an unnatural green tint.
How to avoid buying fake spices?
- Buy spices in a holistic form (pepper grain, vanilla pods, cinnamon sticks), as it is more difficult to counterfeit them.
- Choose proven brands.
- Avoid too bright colors - the spice may be painted.
- Pay attention to the marking: a quality product contains information about origin and composition.
Knowing the basic features of counterfeit spices will help to avoid poor quality goods and maintain health.
