iD Natural Paneer Review – Farm Fresh & Made Without Acids

Would you want your paneer to be made naturally or with acids? iD Natural Paneer is one of those packaged paneers that does not use citric acid or any other chemicals. Instead, iD Natural Paneer uses natural ingredients to convert milk into id fresh Paneer.

iD Natural Paneer is a fairly new entrant in the market. Over the last few months and weeks, the availability of iD Fresh paneer has been growing steadily. For the purpose of this review in our Gurugram headquarters, we purchased blocks of iD Natural Paneer via Big Basket.

iD Natural Paneer first caught our attention because when we checked the ingredients online, we observed that this paneer was made using natural ingredients.

This review of iD Natural Paneer will help you gather details about this new product. Is it creamy, rich, and tasty? Keep reading to find out!

iD Natural Paneer uses lemon instead of acids, and hence would naturally be considered a healthier choice.

Did you know that iD is an abbreviated form of “Idli Dosa”?

iD products first started as a range of homemade dosa and idli batters. Then came the parotha’s and naan. With a range of milk-based products, including paneer and curd, the brand is expanding its base.

The price of iD Natural Paneer is on the higher side, but it does come with the promise of natural ingredients. Products with clean labels and made using natural ingredients always offer better nutrition. As a product that is devoid of any chemicals – we were excited to see how it would be like to taste and cook with.

The parameters we considered for iD Natural Paneer review were taste, texture, flavor, aroma, and last but not least, the price.

1. Ingredients used to make paneer

Paneer is made out of milk. An ingredient like citric acid, lemon, or curd is used to curdle the milk to make paneer. Traditionally, this is how paneer is made in millions of homes across India.

Lemon or Curd is a natural ingredient hence preferred over citric acid.

iD Natural Paneer uses lemon instead of acids, and hence would naturally be considered a healthier choice.

2. Moisture

Paneer should be soft like a sponge and should spring back on pressing it with a finger. When we buy paneer, we look for moisture because if the paneer is dry, it would affect the taste. The dryness of the paneer will ruin the dish. The absence of moisture, could leady to dry, rubbery pieces of paneer which, needless to say, is quite undesirable.

3. Odor

Fresh Paneer has a milky and creamy aroma. It should not emit any foul smell. During our review of iD Natural Paneer, we were looking for a similar fresh, appealing aroma.

4. Texture & Color

Paneer should be white in color and should not look yellowish or pale. A soft texture tells you about the freshness of Paneer. As paneer gets older, you will find that it tends to be less soft.

5. Taste

Fresh paneer should not taste tangy. It should have a creamy, milky taste with a texture is soft, but not crumbly.

6. Price

On an average, the price of 200 g of Paneer is normally INR 70/- to 75/- depending upon where you are buying it from.

7. Packaging

iD natural paneer is sold in a pouch pack in a dark green and white color. There are no instructions on the package on how to store unused iD natural paneer.

Made with Lemon and not acid is the highlight on the pack of iD Natural Paneer. The picture of a lemon on the iD Natural Paneer packet will catch your attention as one can easily understand that iD Natural Paneer is made with lemon.

 The reverse side of the iD Natural Paneer pack has storage instructions (before opening) and information about allergens. It also shows the ingredients iD Natural Paneer is made up of.

The nutritional information is shown on the reverse side of the iD Natural Paneer packet. The other details will also be found at the back like the date of manufacturing and best before date etc.

8. Shelf Life

iD natural paneer has a shelf life of 11 days.

The shelf life of the iD Natural Paneer is mentioned on the back of the packet.

No matter which brand of paneer you like, we urge all readers to always check the shelf life of packaged paneer before buying and consuming it.

9. Nutrition Facts

iD Paneer nutrition per 100 g is as follows:

Energy 254kcal, Total fat 22g, Saturated Fat 14g, Carbohydrates 2g, Protein 12g, Cholesterol 70mg, Sodium 22 mg.

Vegetarians don’t fret as they will get the same nutrition as an egg from 100 gms of iD Paneer nutrition.

For our iD Fresh Paneer review, we tested the fresh paneer by cooking with it as well. We used Veeba’s  Ready to Cook Restaurant Style Makhani gravy as a base to check the paneer for multiple factors.

Raw chunks of iD Natural Paneer were quite milky. The fresh paneer pieces were quite creamy and tasted fresh when it was unpacked.

In fact, iD Natural Paneer has a slight lemony aftertaste which demonstrates that lemon is used in making the paneer.

The texture of iD Natural Paneer is not really close to that of homemade paneer. Homemade Paneer is usually delicate to handle and generally has a tendency to crumble a bit into the gravy, this did not happen with iD Natural Paneer. We found that it does not crumble off while cooking.

Importantly, pieces of iD natural paneer used in the gravy turned chewy. This is not desirable in any paneer-dish. You want the cubes of paneer to be soft, and yet have a bite even when cooked. Instead, we found that iD paneer chunks became rubbery upon cooking.

The softness of the iD Natural Paneer was not maintained as it came in contact with the acidic tomato gravy.

Talking about the cost, iD paneer 200 gm price is INR 100/- which is quite an expensive brand as compared to other brands in this category.

The other brands of paneer sold in the market are priced in the range of INR 70 to 75 for a 200 gms pack.

• We observed that iD Natural Paneer was easy to cut. We got neat cubes out of iD Natural Paneer.
• We also saw moisture oozing out of the iD Natural Paneer while sauteing the Paneer which was definitely missing when the iD Natural Paneer was taken out of the pack.
• Home-made Paneer has a tendency to slightly break while being cooked. Paneer cubes were intact while they were being sauteed.
• We observed the softness no longer existed once the iD Natural Paneer was mixed with the gravy. The soft iD Natural Paneer had turned quite chewy when it was cooked.
• The shape of iD Natural Paneer was retained but not the texture.

Since the product is comparing itself to homemade paneer, it is important to mention that homemade Paneer retains its taste even after it’s cooked. iD Natural Paneer, on the other hand, becomes a bit stretchy and rubbery when cooked in the gravy.

iD paneer price for 200g is INR 100/- and when one is paying almost 25/- higher for natural paneer, one would have higher expectations from the paneer for parameters like taste and texture.

Features

• iD Natural Paneer is made from natural ingredients.

• No added preservatives is used in iD Natural Paneer.

• Premium ingredients are used in iD Natural Paneer.

• Pasteurized milk is used for making iD Natural Paneer.

• Keep iD Natural Paneer under refrigeration at 4 degrees centigrade or below in hygienic conditions.

• id Natural Paneer is a vegetarian product.

Pros

• No acids used in iD Natural Paneer.

• iD Natural Paneer has a milky and fresh aroma

• Easy to cut into neat, uniform cubes

Cons

• iD Natural Paneer is highly-priced as compared to other brands of fresh Paneer.

• Pieces of paneer became chewy upon cooking in a simple gravy.

Best Suited For

iD Natural Paneer is good for people who want all-natural products. Since the key ingredient in iD Natural Paneer is pasteurized milk and lemon juice and no acids are used, many people may like to consider using it.

iD Natural Paneer could be a very good option for people consuming raw paneer as when we did the taste test of iD Natural Paneer, we found the iD Natural Paneer is soft and creamy to taste.

Here are some interesting FAQs on iD natural paneer.

1. Does iD Natural Paneer require refrigeration?

Yes, like all packaged paneer brands, iD Natural Paneer has to be stored at a temperature of 4 degrees Centigrade.

2. Which ingredients are used in iD Natural Paneer?

Milk and lemon are the only ingredients used in id Natural paneer making this a rare brand that used lemon to make the paneer.

3. What is the iD Paneer 200 gms price?

iD Paneer 200gms price is INR 100/-

4. Can I please know iD Paneer nutrition?

iD Paneer nutrition has zero trans fat. Energy is 254 kcal. Total fat is 22g. Total Protein is 12g. Cholesterol is 70g.

5. Can I buy iD Paneer online?

Yes, iD Paneer can be bought online from Amazon and Bigbasket.

The best thing about iD paneer is that it contains lemon and milk only – yes only two ingredients. It has a fresh aroma and and is milky and creamy to taste when we tried it raw. The only dampener was the fact it became chewy upon cooking.

The perfect cubes which you get after cutting would definitely look eye-catching and give your dishes a perfect neat look however the stiffness upon cooking iD paneer price doesn’t justify the price variance currently.

The shelf life  of iD Natural Paneer is 11 days.