Dried Amla

1.Fresh Amla Fruit

Fresh is great if you can get it, even occasionally. Some specialty grocers online have weekly deliveries from India and will send out orders the same day. If you live near an Indian market they may also sell them. Look for firm fruit as the older ones can shrivel a little.

Amla juice is popular in India, but unfortunately most of the commercial products have added sugar or, even worse, glucose syrup.
It’s fairly pointless to pay for a health food that is full of sugar in my opinion. The preservative sodium benzoate is also often used, which is best avoided where possible.

Local Indian grocers may stock a good version of amla juice, but based on what I’ve found online, I wouldn’t currently recommend it. If anyone does know of a high quality, reasonably priced source of amla juice please share it in the comments below.

Obviously if supermarket amla juice is full of sugar then amla candy will be even worse. In fact, it’s even more likely to be made with glucose syrup, an ingredient strongly linked to diabetes, obesity and heart disease.
It’s a common trick of food manufacturers to use a small amount of something healthy, while simultaneously adding lots of very unhealthy ingredients like sugar syrup. Amla candy looks to me to be a classic case of this kind of deceptive
marketing.
If you can’t get the fresh fruit, I’d strongly suggest using the powdered fruit or these high potency capsules available for $4 international delivery.
Amla candy is unlikely to do anything positive for your health.
If you really do want to have it then try something like this homemade amla candy recipe which looks healthier than anything you’d find in a packet.

If you do have access to fresh Indian gooseberries, here’s a simple recipe for amla chutney:

1. Take 300 grams of amla fruit, 200 grams of cilantro, 50 grams of green chilies, a small piece of ginger and sea salt to taste.
2. Blend them all up well in a good food processor.
3. Store in a jar and cover with olive oil or avocado oil to prevent oxidization. It should keep for at least a month in the fridge.