Paste

Food · Pantry & Condiment · Food, Typed Supps

These are flavour bases, not foods. The numbers are per 100g, and a recipe uses a teaspoon.

Stage by stage

Intake (Salt and umami detected): Free glutamate and salt register immediately, which is what these products are made to do.
Cooking (Aromatics released into fat): Curry pastes release their fat-soluble aroma compounds only when fried in oil.
Small intestine (Sodium absorbed): Sodium is absorbed rapidly and near-completely, with no matrix effect to slow it.
Kidneys (Sodium load excreted): The kidneys handle the sodium load; at typical teaspoon quantities this is unremarkable, at tablespoon quantities it is not.

Time to effect

Immediate: Salt and umami are perceived instantly; there is no meaningful delayed effect at the amounts used.

Allergens

None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Keto, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

Not scored: the satiety index is measured on 240 kcal servings, and nobody eats a 240 kcal serving of this. The question does not apply rather than the answer being unknown.

Cost band

Mid — roughly £5 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 94
Protein: 21g
Carbohydrate: 0g
of which sugars: 0g
Fat: 1g
of which saturated: 0.4g
Fibre: 0g
Sodium: 6000mg

Food vs. supplement

Not applicable. These are flavour bases whose nutritional relevance is the sodium they contribute to the dish, not any nutrient they supply.

Kitchen tip

Fry curry pastes in oil until fragrant and separating before adding liquid. Add fermented soybean paste late and taste before adding any further salt.

Common myth

"Shrimp paste is a great calcium and iron source, look at the numbers." In reality: The per-100g figures are real but nobody eats 100g. A teaspoon delivers a small fraction of the daily target for either mineral, and roughly a fifth of a day's sodium limit alongside it. Judge condiments per teaspoon, never per 100g.