As a follow-up to our Hindi cover story on pure ghee, MNT would like to publish an English conversation it had with Patanjali Rao Upadrasta, Managing Director of Upadrasta Dairy Specialities Limited, a Hyderabad-based company established in the year 1995. Upadrasta Dairy’s product brand name is known as Suruchi. It specializes in the manufacture of region specific, tailor-made ghee and butter for consumers, mithai and namkeen manufacturers, Ayurvedic companies, biscuit manufacturers and the HORECA segment.
With foreword already mentioned in our hindi cover story, we are taking the rise from there to here. The following are the citations we had with Mr. Patanjali Rao to rope some additional information and knowledge.
1.Our first question to Mr. Rao was how can a layman identify the purity of ghee?
“Frankly speaking, the technology and research that has gone into adulteration of ghee is far more than the R&D done for improving the quality and usage of pure ghee in the country. World over, there are two approaches to check the adulteration of ghee.
- Scientific method.
- Layman’s method.
The adulteration of ghee is detected with a basic test known as The Reichert Meissl value or popularly known as the RM value test, Free fatty acid test (FFA), Butyro Refractor Meter(BR reading) etc.
The scientific method is when an RM test is conducted to determine the value along with Boudin test and Polenske value tests. Due to the disparity of allowable RM value across the country, region specific adulteration is very high. In most southern states, the allowable RM value as per the FSSAI act is 24 as compared to the northern states where the allowable standard is 28. As a result of this disparity, adulteration is rampant accordingly in the country. If standardization of RM value across the country happens, the chances of adulteration would be much lower.
The Laymen’s method: Since the melting point of Ghee is low, ghee when poured into the hand, the temperature of the body is good enough to melt the ghee unlike other fats. This is a primary indicator to establish non-adulteration. Also, ghee has a high burning point and when heated to that level, the ghee turns blackish brown. If the ghee does not change colour and remains pale yellow that is an indication that the ghee is adulterated.
The best approach for testing ghee is the scientific method which can be done in any accredited food laboratory.
- Why is ghee adulterated in ghee and what do they adulterate ghee with?
By and large, India has a very price sensitive market and consumers. It has a 50% plus of a very strong middle and upper-class population segment and the demand for ghee is driven by this segment by and large. When you add anything to pure ghee, the flavour is the first to suffer, lowering the acceptability of ghee quality. So to counter that, using artificial flavours is the only way to improve the level of the flavour, making it more acceptable and appetizing. RM is one of the most important test for ascertaining the purity of ghee. In such situations, many people do not get an RM test done as they are unaware as to where to get these tests done.
The most common adulterants of ghee are vegetable fat and animal fat.
- Why is consuming ghee considered harmful to the human body? Is it a myth or a fact?
To answer this question, we should understand the types of fat available for human consumption.
There are three types of fats that are currently consumed by humans. The first one being vegetable fat; second being the animal fat and third is the milk fat. Out of all these three types of fat, milk fat is the most easily digestible fat given to us by Mother Nature. That is the reason why all mammals feed their young ones milk which contains an easily digestible form of fat and nourishment. The second is vegetable fats which is extracted from oilseeds. The third is the animal fats derived from the consumption of non-veg foods. Fats are the store house of energy in our body. Hence when there is any form of exercise the first to burn away is the milk fat, followed by vegetable fat and the most stubborn to burn is the animal fat. - Is there a standard practice for production of ghee in India? Are there varieties of ghee?
The standard process of ghee making in our country is by melting butter or fresh cream in ghee melting vats but the taste and flavour requirements vary from region to region. For example, ghee produced in the northern parts of the country is not preferred by the people in the south and vice versa. Similarly, ghee produced by the western part of the country is not preferred by the eastern regions and vice versa. Keeping this disparity in mind, our company manufactures Suruchi Ghee which specializes in region specific, tailor-made varieties of ghee. They are north Indian white ghee, south Indian brown ghee (caramelized ghee), Cow ghee, A2 Cow ghee, Gawa ghee, and their organic varieties. In addition, there are other premium varieties like ginger, garlic, cinnamon and clove varieties of ghee.
For mithai and namkeen, chocolate, biscuit and other confectionary making, customer-centric tailor-made ghee is manufactured to suit their end use application. However, for the Horeca segment, Suruchi Ghee has promoted caramelized ghee and is widely used by chef’s to cook exotic foods like biryani’s and tandoori items.
- Ghee V/s Oil
The goodness of ghee has been promoted traditionally in our country for centuries. Over time there were a lot of misconceptions that have arisen about consumption of ghee. Thanks to the aggressive promotion done by the desi ghee fraternity in the country which has brought back the glory and goodness of consuming ghee. By and large ghee available in the country is either cow or buffalo based. In the recent past, the goodness and nutritional benefits of cow ghee has been aggressively promoted thereby increasing the demand for the same exponentially, but traditionally for most cooking purposes, buffalo ghee is preferred. As compared to cooking oil, ghee is a far more superior medium of cooking as it has a low melting point and a high smoking point making it an ideal cooking choice.