The risk of your kitchen ingredients being adulterated is rarely out of question. Further, when it comes to a suspiciously unhealthy ingredient like all-purpose flour or Maida, the risk seems to intensify.

You are what you eat and thus, it is imperative to have complete knowledge of the purity and quality of your food products.

We are almost constantly advised against consuming Maida. It is claimed that it has serious health repercussions. So, firstly it is essential to know about Maida in detail.

Next, comes the question of what exactly adulterates Maida? Followed by, how can you test it?

Here's a complete explainer to answer all of these questions. Read till the end to know about the right solution to your Maida worries.

Table of Contents

• Is Maida an artificial flour?
• How is Maida made?
• Is Maida harmful?
• How to test your Maida for adulteration?
• Which maida brand can be trusted?
• Conclusion

Is Maida an artificial flour?

Maida is often seen as an unnatural flour that is made out of chemical processes. But is that true?

Maida, in reality, is just a refined form of whole wheat flour. The whole wheat grains go under a heavy refining process to make Maida.

It is thus made of the inner segment of the wheat grain, known as endosperm. Therefore, it majorly consists of the starchy endosperm of the wheat grain.

This is unlike the case of whole wheat flour which is made out of the entire grain, including the hard outer part called Bran.

Thus, Maida is not an artificial product but just a highly refined form of wheat grains.

How is Maida made?

As mentioned above, Maida is essentially a heavily refined version of whole wheat flour.

Here's how whole wheat grains turn into Maida -

• Each batch of whole wheat grains is filtered for any dust particles, stones or husk as the first step.
• After being filtered, the grains are thoroughly cleaned to remove any remaining impurity.
• Once deep-cleaned, the bran (grain's outer shell) is separated from the grain and the endosperms are taken forward.
• Finally, the endosperms reach the milling stage, where they are finely milled in several rounds. The process continues till all the endosperms turn into fine flour.

Is Maida harmful?

Maida is indeed low on nutrients as the majority of nutrients are stored in the outermost part of the grain, called bran. Since Maida is made only out of the starch-filled endosperm of the grain, it mostly contains starch. Thus, it misses out on some of the healthy stuff, such as dietary fiber, found in whole wheat flour.

But being low in nutrition doesn't necessarily make Maida harmful to your health, especially if consumed in moderation. The term, 'moderation' is the key here as you don't need to worry about your health if you consume Maida once in a while.

How to test your Maida for adulteration?

While Maida itself doesn't do any severe damage, adulterated Maida is bound to cause troubles. Thus, you should be careful while choosing your Maida.

While your Maida may look alright to the naked eye, it is susceptible to adulteration. Thus, it is better to test it before consumption.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has mentioned that maida can be adulterated with boric acid, a weakly acidic hydrate of boric oxide.

FSSAI also recommended a simple test that can be performed at home to check for any traces of adulteration in maida.

Here's the detailed procedure

• Take about 1 gm of your maida in a test tube.
• Add 5 ml of water to the test tube.
• Shake the contents in the tube.
• Next, add a few drops of concentrated HCL (Hydrochloric acid) to the mix.
• Then dip a turmeric paper strip in the prepared solution.
• If no color change is observed on the turmeric paper then your maida is unadulterated. However, if it turns red then your maida is adulterated.

Which is the best maida brand?

Since Maida is so prone to adulteration, it is essential to choose the right brand. You need to pick the best maida brand that doesn't compromise with quality standards and thus can be trusted with your health.

One such trustworthy brand is Vikram Mills. It is an Indian brand, operating since 1973, that has always focused on delivering the most premium quality products. They have constantly raised their standard and stayed ahead of the government requirements.

With their unwavering dedication towards product quality, they have garnered industry giants, like Parle, Britannia, Priya Gold and Tops as their clients. Thus, they have consistently been among the top FMCG brands in India.

They specialize in wheat products like fresh Chakki Atta, Maida, Suji, Rawa and a lot more. They even have different varieties of Maida for different purposes such as the Bakery Maida, Patent Maida and Super Patent Maida.

Thus, you can consider Viram Mills as the best Maida brand, which can be trusted for healthy, unadulterated Maida.

Conclusion

So, your Maida concerns can thus be resolved. You can test the Maida you are consuming presently and find out if it is impure. If it turns out to be impure, then you know it's time to switch your Maida brand. Thus, you should choose another quality Maida brand in such a case.

You should trust only a long-running brand like Vikram Mills, with a proven record of delivering premium quality products.