An Instagram influencer recently visited multiple high-end restaurants in Mumbai owned by celebrities to test the authenticity of the paneer served there. He performed the viral iodine test on the paneer to find out whether it was real or synthetic. He visited restaurants owned by celebrities like Virat Kohli, Shilpa Shetty, Bobby Deol, and Gauri Khan. In the videos, he claimed that while the first three celebrity-owned restaurants passed the test, Gauri Khan’s restaurant failed. The video quickly went viral, with claims that Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan’s restaurant was serving fake paneer.

What is the iodine test?

The iodine test is a simple chemical test used to detect the presence of starch in paneer. Pure, unadulterated paneer contains no starch. When iodine solution is mixed with starch, it turns blue-black. Hence, if paneer contains starch, it will change color. On the contrary, if it is pure, the iodine solution will show no reaction, as pure paneer contains no starch.