As the popularity of organic ingredients rises, we demand ingredient that is flavorful and functional. A great example of a functional ingredient is turmeric. Turmeric is a rhizome from the herbaceous plant of the ginger family.
This plant requires a hot and humid climate to flourish. If you look at the appearance of turmeric rhizome, they closely resemble ginger. The inner flesh is dark yellow. Turmeric has been used since ancient times. It is complemented with other spices in culinary cuisines. It is used as a spice to give colour and flavor to curry.
It has gained great importance in natural medicines. It has antibacterial properties. Therefore, it is being used in many Ayurvedic medicines. By reading this article, you will comprehend and understand the basics of turmeric, its taste, origin, medicinal benefits and much more. So stick to this article. Let us first cover the taste of turmeric.
What Does Turmeric Taste Like?
Turmeric is extremely beneficial for the human body. It is a super powerful herb. The turmeric is used as raw or in powdered form. The taste of turmeric is earthy, mild, bitter and a little bit peppery.
It doesn’t taste good when taken raw. But we love to have mustard sauce in burgers and many appetizing dips. So you will be surprised by the fact that it is one of the main ingredients of traditional yellow mustard.
The bright yellow colour of mustard is also because of the turmeric powder used in it. Turmeric is also used in pickling. Raw turmeric tastes bad, so if you want to consume it. Make sure to pair it with other spices like using it in curries or warm spices like black pepper, cinnamon and ginger.
It gives complimentary flavour profiles to these strong spices. It has a strong colour. You might have noticed your fingers turning yellow after using turmeric. It is also used to give colour like butter, cheese and mustard are very good examples.
You have varied option to consume turmeric, from using it in curries to taking it as a supplement.
Basics of Turmeric
A product of rhizomatous herbaceous plant turmeric belongs to the ginger family. We use turmeric as a spice in Asian food. It is one of the main spice that gives colour and taste to curry. It can be found fresh, but most of us use it in dry powder form.
Fresh turmeric is processed to powdered form. It is first harvested and placed in boiling water for hours. After that, turmeric is removed from boiling water and is dried.
Once fully dried, it is ground to powder form. It has the magical power to heal and improve many health and medical diseases. Its active ingredient, curcumin, is high in antioxidants with a wide range of positive affect on the human body.
Storing Turmeric
It is also necessary to this magical herb properly so that its quality doesn’t degrade.
Storing Powder Turmeric
If you want it in powder form, you can find it in any grocery store in the species section. Storing powder turmeric is quite easy. You can store it in an airtight jar in any col and dry cabinet. You can store and place it the way you keep other spices. Make sure you are storing it in a cool and dry cabinet. Don’t place it in a humid environment as it may result in lumps formation in powder turmeric.
Storing Fresh Turmeric
Fresh turmeric, on the other hand, is a bit difficult to store. While buying fresh turmeric, always go for the ones that are free of blemishes, bruises and spots. To get them from the grocery store, you have to place them in plastic bags. Put it in the veggie drawer in the refrigerator. It can stay good for two weeks. But if you want to store it for long, you can peel off the skin and store it in grated form. You can also grind it and store the paste in an airtight jar in the refrigerator.
Turmeric Health Benefits
The health benefits associated with this spice are mind blowing. From lowering blood pressure to reducing body weight, it has proven tremendous. Turmeric is an excellent source of iron, fibres, manganese and copper. Beyond this, it has a huge list of health benefits.
It contains compounds that are extremely beneficial for the human body. Turmeric contains curcumin. A lot of the health benefits of turmeric are due to this compound. Turmeric has a lot of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Modern researches have proven that turmeric is effective in reducing cancer risk. Turmeric is a major detoxing agent. It helps in the detoxification of harmful substances present within the blood. It helps to improve cardiovascular system function by acting as an artery cleaner. It lowers the level of bad cholesterol that is VLDL in the blood.
The daily use of turmeric reduces ulcer of the gastrointestinal tract like gastric ulcers and colitis ulcer. It has immune-boosting, body healing properties. It helps relieves aches and pains.
Natural Remedies and Turmeric
Turmeric has natural been used as a natural remedy for years due to its medical properties. It is also used extensively in many natural remedies. It acts as a natural pain killer, due to which turmeric tea is quite famous. It reduces pain and swelling.
Turmeric ginger tea is also known as immune boosting tea and plays an important role in flu relief. Turmeric powder is used for weight loss and to reduce obesity.
Curcumin present in turmeric is effective for women having polycystic ovarian syndrome and infertility disorders. This magical turmeric tea increases body metabolism balances hormones. It is tremendous in skin lighting and reducing pigmentation. Therefore, it is used widely in beauty products and beauty remedies.
Allopathic Medicine
Due to the extensive health benefits of turmeric, it is used in much allopathic medicine to reduce and cure diseases associated with the human body. The curcumin in turmeric is responsible for all medical healthcare benefits. If you want to have isolated cur-cumin in a proper dosage form, then turmeric capsules and tablets are best for you.
Turmeric capsules and tablets are available by different brand names. If you don’t often use turmeric in your recipes and you should go with turmeric capsules. They are quite affordable with no side effects.
Culinary Uses of Turmeric
This colour-full seasoning is derived from turmeric roots and is used in many curry dishes to add flavours. It enhances the taste of many savoury dishes. You can use turmeric in fresh as well as powdered form. Let first have a look at how you can use fresh turmeric in your favourite dishes.
Fresh Turmeric
If you prefer using fresh turmeric before using it, wear gloves as they stain your hands. You can prepare fresh turmeric the way you do ginger. Use can use the back of a spoon to remove the skin. After peeling the skin, grate, it or you can grind it as well. Keep the grind or grated turmeric in the refrigerator. You can pop up freshly grated turmeric on many dishes.
Marinades, Dips, Sauces and Salad
Turmeric gives tempting flavour to dressings, marinades and dips. Who wouldn’t love to have mustard honey dips? Turmeric not only gives mustard dips a delicious taste but also eye-catching yellow color.
Fresh Turmeric Curry
An amazing fresh turmeric curry recipe would be as follow:
- Take 100-gram fresh turmeric, peel and grate.
- Add oil in a saucepan and stir fresh fry turmeric until it turns golden brown.
- Take out fried golden brown turmeric from the pan
- Now add tomato puree and other spices like salt, coriander powder, paprika powder.
- Add half a cup of water and bring it to the bowl.
- Turn of the heat add fried turmeric to the curry.
- The mix is well, and it’s ready to eat.
Banana Smoothie
Well, all of us love to have fruit shakes and smoothies. Banana smoothie is on top among all others. Everyone loves the sweet taste of bananas with the creamy texture of milk. The combo of banana with turmeric make banana smoothie much more delicious. Apart from being delicious, this smoothie is highly nutritional. So do you want to learn this recipe? Write down the ingredients first:
- Three bananas
- Two slices of pineapple
- One teaspoon of freshly grated turmeric
- One cup milk
Direction: dice the banana and pineapples. Put them in a blender and add milk, turmeric and ice. Blend it well. You can garnish by adding grated fresh turmeric on top.
Powder Turmeric
There are many recipes worldwide in which powder turmeric is used. Whether it’s simply sprinkling turmeric powder on a fried egg, on yoghurt or top of your favorite drinks or it can also be used as smoothies to using turmeric as a key ingredient in curries, sweet and savory dishes.
Raw turmeric has a very earthy and bitter taste, and it’s almost impossible for anyone to have it raw. Powder turmeric loved to be paired with flavours like cinnamon, black pepper and nutmeg. When combined with powder turmeric not only taste good but also help in absorption of turmeric active ingredient within the body.
It increases the bioavailability of curcumin within the body. So make sure to add black pepper along with turmeric. Turmeric sits well with cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg in both savoury and sweet dishes. The proper way to use turmeric in sweet dishes is to add a handsome amount of sweet ingredients to balance the earthy taste of turmeric.
You can use honey, chocolate syrup and maple syrup. You can add whatever you like the most. It’s totally up to you. You can mix and match things according to your flavour and taste. You can add turmeric to vegetable or lentil soup.
It will give soup not only a classic colour but also a very mild, tasty flavour.
Turmeric Drinks
If you are not feeling super creative, don’t worry, we are going to discuss some very delicious recipes that are incomplete without turmeric.
Turmeric milk
Turmeric milk, also known as golden milk, is loaded with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. It is a great soothing and relaxing drink to enjoy in winters. So let’s dive into it.
- Add two cups of coconut or soya milk to a pot.
- Add one teaspoon of turmeric powder, a pinch of black pepper, which will help your body absorb the turmeric.
- Add a pinch of cinnamon and two tablespoons of your favourite sweetener syrup.
- Give it a good stir and let the milk simmer for five minutes.
- Then pour turmeric milk on a cup and enjoy it.
Immunity Boosting Turmeric Drink
- Add one tablespoon of freshly grated turmeric, freshly grated ginger and a pinch of black pepper.
- Add lemon zest and a quarter cup of honey.
- Stir the ingredients well to a paste like consistency.
- You can mix it up with your favourite juices. Just take one teaspoon of turmeric honey paste. Mix it up with a small glass of juice, and it is ready to drink.
You can keep this honey turmeric paste in the refrigerator. Don’t directly pop it into the fridge. Use air tight containers. It will stay good in the refrigerator for ten days.
Chocolate Turmeric Tea
One excellent way to stay fit in the cold and cosy season is by enhancing your immune system. You can do it by adding turmeric to your daily recipes. It has a long list of health benefits. Many of us don’t like the flavour of turmeric, so pairing it with chocolate kind of hides the flavour of turmeric. The chocolate golden milk recipe is very quick and easy to make.
- Add coconut milk to the saucepan. You can use soy or almond milk.
- Add some turmeric to it, half a teaspoon and a pinch of cinnamon.
- Add one tablespoon of chocolate powder.
- To give it a sweet taste. Add two to three teaspoons of maple syrup. You can use other sweeteners like honey.
- Heat it and stir all the ingredients well.
- Put this rich and creamy chocolate turmeric tea in the cup.
- Add a little bit of grated chocolate on the top.
- Enjoy the chocolate turmeric tea in cold, cosy weather.
Turmeric Tea
Turmeric tea is famous worldwide. Millions of people benefit from this tea, from weight loss to immunity-boosting to inflammatory issues like arthritis to managing hormonal imbalances like PCOS and thyroid. Getting clear skin, healthy gut and many more. Its results are endless. It’s best to start your day with turmeric tea as it is loaded with antioxidants. It’s very easy to make.
- Boil a cup of water.
- Add a quarter teaspoon of turmeric powder and a pinch of black pepper.
- Pour the tea in a cup, add two to three drops of lemon juice and sprinkle cinnamon powder on top.
- Mix it, and turmeric tea is ready.
Turmeric, either in the form of powder or fresh, can be used in several ways. It makes your drinks and sweet, savoury dishes not only tasty but also extremely nutritional. Try incorporating turmeric in your daily food. It will protect you from many diseases and help you boost up your immunity.