Should you be eating store-bought ginger-garlic paste?

Let’s get one thing straight, there’s nothing wrong per se with using store-bought ginger-garlic paste. If buying the readymade paste means you save a good 15 to 20 minutes of toil-time in the kitchen per meal — it’s definitely a steal!

But you can never be careful enough. Buying anything pre-packaged comes with the undeniable knowledge that you will be ingesting preservatives, additives and chemicals of various kinds. But for something as widely and regularly used as ginger-garlic paste, it can’t hurt to know what exactly you’re putting in your food and your system. Citric acid, xanthan gum and synthetic food colours are the common culprits in this regard serving purposes such as keeping that ‘fresh’ aroma intact, ensuring the texture of the paste actually continues to feel like one and that the colour is close enough to the paste you’d make at home.

While ingesting these substances in moderation is perfectly fine, those with sensitive systems — especially a sensitive stomach, may feel the health pinch sooner, or even harder. What’s one way to safeguard your health in the long run then? Trust your gut. If the paste you’re squeezing out of the packet, smells ‘off’ or looks discoloured, or is too clumped, or on the flip side, too watery and separated, just throw the packet out. The ₹40 to ₹50 you’ll spend on another packet, is a 100-percent worth safeguarding your health in the long run.

Want to avoid the tedious label-scouring and just make your own? It possibly couldn’t be simpler. The toughest thing to do here, is be patient enough to peel and dry your ginger and garlic. Once done, just blitz together in the mixer with a splash of oil and a dash of salt and you have yourself, your very own trusty jar of chemicals and preservatives-free ginger garlic paste. Be mindful to store it in the fridge, and the jar should last you through the week.

So are you team homemade or store-bought?