Turmeric

[CharityCase]

I am here, standing before you, to confess my love of Turmeric.

A couple of years ago I came back from India with Dried whole turmeric, and after grating some for what seemed like hours finally understood why it makes its way into so many dishes. And whereas I had only ever pulled a bland tasteless spoon of it out of a McCormick's jar I could now smell taste and see on my stained hands why it is reported ot have magical properties.

So do you have any uses for Turmeric that are unique and different? Were you a late bloomer or did you grow up with Turmeric in everything?

Or, dare I ask, are there still some of you who scratch their head when confronted with a recipe calling for the mysterious yellow powder you've had in your pantry since 1982?

[NulloModo]

I am not really perplexed but it, but I often omit it, simply because I have yet you encounter turmeric with any flavor, and I don't really care if my dish ends up being yellow or not.

What did your Indian turmeric taste like? Do you know of any sources to get high quality stuff in the US?

[CharityCase]

I am not really perplexed but it, but I often omit it, simply because I have yet you encounter turmeric with any flavor, and I don't really care if my dish ends up being yellow or not. 

What did your Indian turmeric taste like?  Do you know of any sources to get high quality stuff in the US?

←

I'm afraid I don't although the fresh stuff can be found quite easily in Asian and ethnic food markets here in Canada and probably metropolitan areas of the States. I've yet to use it though.

The whole dried turmeric, when grated with a microplane or similiar, gives off a very pungent odor...smells like a pickle or vinegar or somewhere in between. In terms of taste (i.e. dab your finger into the fresh powder) the difference is subtle but there. I suspect Turmeric is one of those things that loses it's kick very quickly.

[lperry]

Get it through Penzey's.

Online Store

They must have great turnover because it always has that nice bite to it. It's the closest to fresh that I've found in a powder.

-Linda

[Luckylies]

I made avery nice bbq sauce with some tumeric in it the other day... it was fantastic. now, what exactly does tumeric taste like? I'm still not sure.

[helenjp]

Get it fresh. It smells TOTALLY different from dried powdered turmeric.

It looks like malnourished ginger rhizomes, but the flesh is yellower (though nothing like the yellow of dried turmeric). It even has a flowery spicy smell like ginger, but with that added bite and "clean" taste of turmeric.

I used to panfry kingish (=yellowfish) with freshly grated turmeric...when I could get it. They were born for each other

[Pan]

I like dried turmeric, though it's somewhat musty. Fresh turmeric is wonderfully earthy. If you can get fresh turmeric, use it for any number of Malaysian recipes; it was a standard part of the rempah (spicy paste) on the East Coast of Malaysia in the 70s, and I imagine people with turmeric plants still use the fresh stuff.

[Mabelline]

Can anyone post a website that will mailorder fresh? I would love to try it, for I've yet to meet an Indian spice I didn't get along with.

[pam claughton]

A simple, flavorful way to use it is just to add to plain white rice or pilaf. It adds a pretty yellow color and subtle flavor. I worked in a restaurant on the Cape for years, and people always raved about the rice, and it was nothing but white rice and tumeric spice.

[Episure]

Turmeric/Curcuma Longa/ Haldi

If you have fresh Turmeric just jullienne it and pickle it in salt and lemon/lime juice. It will stay longer and you can sprinkle it in Salads, Fish and Curries.

It is also very good for you:

Haldi is Healthy

Based on this evidence, Aggarwal recommended that people with cancer should try to eat more curcumin, if possible.

"Whichever way you can take it, as much as possible," he said.

The compound, curcumin, helped prevent the onset of multiple sclerosis in rats, according to research from the Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

[Pan]

[...]I worked in a restaurant on the Cape for years[...]

←

First thought: Cape of Good Hope. Second thought: Cape Cod. Third thought: Or is it another cape? Let's all remember that this is an international site. I'm guessing you meant Cape Cod, but I wonder if all our members in India know where that is.

[FaustianBargain]

So do you have any uses for Turmeric that are unique and different? Were you a late bloomer or did you grow up with Turmeric in everything?

I was a very yellow as a little girl. Here is why...every weekend, my grandmother would plead,cajole, negotiate and bribe me for the 'oil bath'. This involved a head to toe hot oil massage. I do have fond memories of the tap-tap hair massage. No soap. No shampoo. The powder used in lieu of soap was not lathery nor did it smell of spring or Aphrodite's arse. It was coarse and had a generous helping of turmeric among other weird and wonderful things. She firmly believed that turmeric was good for the skin. And so..yea..I glowed for a while and was rather yellow.

In the kitchen, the fresh turmeric is definitely better(and distinctly different) than the powdered or the dry version. However, if you are simply using turmeric for the colour(lemon rice, for example...altho' the lemon rice's main ingredient is lemon..its not really lemon rice without the yellow colour...try eating lemon rice without the turmeric and it wouldnt taste the same), the powdered version should do.

edited to add: to pam: indian version of lemon rice also includes curry leaves, seasonings and green chillies. and of course..rice, lemon juice and turmeric.

Edited January 20, 2005 by FaustianBargain (log)

[corinne]

Turmeric is also an excellent anti-inflammatory. The most recent study I saw looked at it's ability to dissolve brain plaques. It turns out that India has the lowest rate of Alzheimer's (now being recognized as an inflammatory condition) in the world.

[Geetha]

I was about to write Termeric its unique taste amongst its other qualities as another topic whe I found this out by searching on the eG search tool, on our website..

I just prepared okra sabji or just stir fried okra, I wrote its recipe is here

I know there is something that makes vegetable preparation acquire a vvery special each flavour is enhanced many fold I think, like the okra never tastes this good what ever you prepare it with... hmm might just be my own memories doing the trick

Still its worth investigating what ever taste it silently and subtly imparts to our food, for I think it was its taste quality that inspired our granmoms to prepare this not the medicinal props, they knew what would make out taste palates to ask for more...

[Jason Perlow]

I hate Tumeric. Especially when it is used as a replacement for saffron.

[Pan]

Turmeric is really lame as a replacement for saffron, but there are plenty of dishes in which the strong taste of saffron would be out of place but I'd miss the absence of turmeric. And I like saffron very much, so in no way am I dissing that deluxe stamen.

[phifly04]

i am not a fan of turmeric it has a very "metallic" taste that i find nasty.

Especially when it is the main ingredient in pre-mixed curry powders,it really must be doctored up-I use sweet corn to off-set the metallic taste

[helenas]

The fresh turmeric is amazing and taste wise has nothing to do with the dried stuff.

I was introduced to it a while ago thanks to this thread.

[estherschindler]

I'm pretty sure that the woman from whom we bought the fresh turmeric -- which looks like small ginger rhizomes, only smaller and with a rosy/orangey blush -- had no idea what to do with the stuff. That must be why she bagged it up and gave it to us when we simply _recognized_ it. I'm fairly sure she grew it because it was interesting, and then wondered, "Now what do I do with it?"

I have plenty of recipes that use dried turmeric. But the only cookbook I have that mentions what it looks like on-the-hoof says, "...but you can't get it in this country anyway, so we won't give you any instructions," or something much to the same point.

I have a large handful, maybe 4 ounces of the stuff. NOW what do I do?

Esther

[John S.]

I have a large handful, maybe 4 ounces of the stuff. NOW what do I do?

Esther

Do you enjoy Indian food? You must have been in an Indian market (Punjabi. etc.) ..... Any dish (like curry) that uses tumeric, ginger, mustard seeds and other Indian spices can be fried (the initial step) with fresh as well as ground. Just would recommend doubling the dried volume using fresh. In that way, fresh vs. dried spices conversions map to ethnic cooking. Enjoy! Let us know what you create! Oh, try to use clarified butter (ghee) if you do an Indian dish.

John S.

[oneidaone]

We get it often at our farmer's market. I'll dig out the informational sheet that

they gave with it. We've used it plenty in soups - espcially squash soups.

I'll write more later - it's so pretty! a hui hou!

[estherschindler]

Do you enjoy Indian food?  You must have been in an Indian market (Punjabi. etc.) .....  Any dish (like curry) that uses tumeric, ginger, mustard seeds and other Indian spices can be fried (the initial step) with fresh as well as ground.  Just would recommend doubling the dried volume using fresh.  In that way, fresh vs. dried spices conversions map to ethnic cooking.  Enjoy!  Let us know what you create!  Oh, try to use clarified butter (ghee) if you do an Indian dish.

←

Actually, it wasn't an Indian market, just your (cough) garden-variety farmer's market. But I've cooked plenty of Indian food, and I'm certainly not afraid of doing so.

I can work with that tip: use twice as much fresh as I'd use dried, and fry it with the other spices.

Now. Hmm. What would be a good recipe...

[Khadija]

I use fresh turmeric (whenever I can get my hands on it) to make curry paste for certain SE Asian curries.

[hummingbirdkiss]

it gives a nice warm (not spicy hot or anything just subtle and warm) flavor to food I think and the color is amazing ..I love using fresh tumeric ..it is all over the place here ...

yes just grate it fine like you do ginger then smash it into a paste of spices and add it to all kinds of curries. I add it to Caribbean and Asian style curries all the time

it is good with anything stew wise I think or as mentioned soups

you can also put it in rice dishes for color and nice flavor

grate it and use about a heaping tsp in a dish the first time and see how you like it

[hummingbirdkiss]

ok try this it is not an exact recipe I am sorry

for a paste

3 shallots

2 cloves of garlic

chiles of your choice

1 tsp of fresh tumeric

1 tsp fresh cumin seed ground

shy 1/4 cup good Madras Curry

mash it all up together then put the paste on a LB of peeled prawns or chicken pieces set aside

pour a neutral flavored oil in a pan... saute until crisp tender any veggies of your choice I love to use multi colored bell peppers for this and one sweet onion sliced

then add the prawns or chicken saute around a bit until the aromas are released

when the meat is partially cooked ..add a can of coconut milk bring to a low boil stirring well then reduce and simmer just a few min until the meat is done ..

that is it