10 Popular Foods That Secretly Contain Onion or Garlic
That instant soup, your favourite chips, even some 'plain' masalas — you'd be shocked what hides inside packaged food labels.
When you're following a Jain diet or avoiding onion and garlic for any reason, reading food labels becomes a survival skill.
Here are 10 foods that commonly contain hidden onion or garlic:
1. Instant Soups & Noodles — Most instant soups use onion powder and garlic powder as base flavour enhancers.
2. Ready-Made Pasta Sauces — Almost every Italian-style pasta sauce contains garlic.
3. Salad Dressings & Mayonnaise — Most commercial mayonnaises use garlic powder.
4. Flavoured Chips & Namkeens — Flavoured variants almost always contain onion and garlic powder.
5. Restaurant Dal & Curries — Even "Jain food" at restaurants may use base gravy made with onion and garlic.
6. Packaged Masala Mixes — Generic masalas nearly always contain dried onion and garlic.
7. Bouillon Cubes & Stock Powders — These almost universally contain onion and garlic.
8. Soy Sauce & Asian Sauces — Most contain garlic or onion as a flavouring ingredient.
9. Frozen Parathas & Breads — Frozen aloo parathas often have onion mixed into the stuffing.
10. "Natural Flavours" on Labels — Can legally include onion and garlic extracts.
What to look for on labels:
Onion, dried onion, onion powder, dehydrated onion
Garlic, dried garlic, garlic powder, garlic extractive
"Natural flavours" (verify separately)
Any mention of "allium"