Patak's Hot Piquante Curry Paste - Why does it need to be cooked?

Cafe Society
1

So, I thought I would dip some naan bread into a jar of Patak’s Hot Piquante Curry Paste and have a little snack.

However, the jar says: “THIS PRODUCT MUST BE COOKED. Suitable for vegetarians.”

I’m curious as to why I have to cook this, as opposed to just dipping naan bread in it and eating.

The ingredients are:

“Water, spices (contains mustard), vegetable oil, concentrated tomato purée, salt, corn flour, acetic acid, sugar, tamarind, garlic powder, citric acid, lactic acid.”

I sent an email to them asking the same question. What could the possible implications of not cooking a vegetarian paste be?

2

My guess is that it needs to be cooked to taste the way you expect Hot Piquante Curry Paste to taste. I’d be surprised if there is an actual food safety issue.

3

Yeah, the spices in question really need heat and a bit of cooking to release the proper flavors and volatiles–things can taste really raw and kind of unpleasant uncooked. That’s rule #1 of Indian cooking, that you always cook up the spices in oil before adding other ingredients. Although if you like it raw, go for it, nothing’s going to hurt you but the uncooked spices might do a number on your lower GI tract.

5

Troll reported. Sorry you’re dealing with this LF.