◊ By Nitya Kaushik

NOTE: To find the latest organic brands and organic products in India, buy the Organic Directory

If you are a quintessential chocolate addict, then the Organic Hazelnut Chocolate Spread by the organic food brand, Pure & Sure may just be the healthy fix you need.

This vegan spread is a rich mix of nutty and chocolaty flavours, silken in texture and versatile in taste. You can have it spread over a slice of bread or chapatis, or as an ingredient in your milkshake. We got creative and had it with rusks and jowar bhakris (sorghum flat breads) as a tea-time snack, ­and the taste was satiating.

An organic product from the Karnataka-based company, Phalada Organic, this spread contains brown sugar and sunflower oil instead of refined sugar and palm oil used by most commercial brands.

Nutritionally, every 100 g of this spread contains only 4 g of saturated fats, markedly lower, compared to a similar product by a popular hazelnut chocolate spread brand, which contains 10.6 g saturated fats within the same quantity, and also contains palm oil. This makes Pure & Sure’s Organic Hazelnut Chocolate Spread a healthier choice, especially for people conscious about their weight, cholesterol intake and heart health.

While there are quite a few refined sugar and palm oil free chocolate spreads in the Indian market today, this product’s USP seems to be that it is certified organic as per the European organic standard (the spread is imported from Europe by the brand). This means the ingredients used—brown sugar, sunflower oil, cocoa powder, hazelnuts, cocoa powder and soy flour—are all organic (derived from plants that were grown without the use of chemical pesticides or chemical fertilisers).

This spread does contain the food additive/emulsifier, soy lecithin, which is a plant based extract, but the owners have clarified to Pure & Eco India that its usage is well within the permitted limits of 1000 mg/kg.

Price-wise, it might be slightly expensive for some – a 200g bottle of Pure & Sure Organic Hazelnut Chocolate Spread costs Rs 410, almost twice the price of the commercial Nutella Hazelnut Spread with Cocoa at Rs 460 (on Amazon) for 400g; or Pintola, whose palm oil-free Hazelnut Cocoa Spread costs Rs 220 for 200g.

Price aside, Pure & Sure’s Organic Hazelnut Chocolate Spread is the healthier and wiser choice for households to make, especially considering the popularity of this product among children.