A social media influencer and YouTuber named Sarthak Sachdeva on Wednesday broke the internet after he conducted a fake paneer test in restaurants of celebrities in Mumbai. Sarthak Sachdeva visited famous eateries in Mumbai owned by celebrities like Virat Kohli, Shilpa Shetty, Bobby Deol, and Shah Rukh Khan's wife Gauri Khan's Torii. For the unversed, Virat Kohli has his restaurant One 8 Commune in Mumbai, Shilpa Shetty owns Bastian, Bobby Deol owns Someplace Else in Mumbai, and last but not least, Gauri Khan owns a beautiful restaurant named Torii.
Sarthak Sachdeva recently visited their restaurants and conducted a fake paneer test with the help of iodine. Sarthak Sachdeva was reaching to conclusion about whether the paneer served in these restaurants is fake or not based on the changes in their color. No paneer pieces turned black in any of these restaurants, which Sarthak assumed to be a marker of quality ingredients being used. However, when tested in Torii, the paneer changed its colour to black. Hence, Sarthak stated that Gauri Khan's restaurant is serving fake paneer.
The truth behind fake paneer in Torii
After Sarthak Sachdeva's Video went viral on social media, Torii commented on the YouTuber's video and fact-checked him. Gauri Khan's eatery wrote, "The iodine test reflects the presence of starch, not the authenticity of the paneer. As the dish contains soy-based ingredients, this reaction is expected. We stand by the purity of our paneer and the integrity of our ingredients at Torii."
True Scoop tried to dig more into whether an iodine test can identify a paneer is fake or not. It found out that the iodine test can detect the presence of starch, but it's not a reliable or conclusive method for determining if paneer is real or fake. A report suggests that fake paneer often includes starch as an ingredient, and a positive iodine test result can indicate the presence of starch, but it doesn't necessarily mean the paneer is fake. Other ingredients or adulterations could also cause a positive test.
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