Turmeric

Turmeric is a plant in the ginger family. The dried root of turmeric is ground into powder, which is commercially available in most places. It is one of the important ingredients in the curry.

It is a very powerful antioxidant. It has antiseptic, antibacterial and ant-fungal properties. It has been used in Chinese and Indian medicines for thousands of years. Turmeric helps in diabetes and heart ailments. It is also used for arthritis, heartburn and to reduce cancer risks.

Curcumin is the major component of turmeric which fights cancer and has ant-inflammatory properties. Curcumin is available in tablet form. However, one should not self medicate with Curcumin. A doctor should prescribe it.

Turmeric has a slightly bitter taste and a bright orange color. I like its color. When you add turmeric to white food ingredients such as shredded coconut, cabbage and rice they take a lovely golden hue.

I normally wash all the vegetables with salt water or immerse then for 10 minutes in salt water. I wash the sea food and meat products with a little salt and turmeric powder. This helps prevent their spoilage even if the cooking process is prolonged, because of their ant-oxidant and ant-bacterial properties. Whenever I buy fresh seafood or meat I marinate them with salt and turmeric before storing them in the freezer.

Turmeric enhances the flavor of many ingredients and also helps in the absorption of nutrition in those ingredients. Turmeric lowers cholesterol and improved liver function.

Because it a very powerful ingredient, we should limit the quantity we use. Otherwise, we may end up with unwanted side effects. Normally I use only a quarter to half a teaspoon of it. sometimes a pinch would do. Only I add half teaspoon when I want to color rice or cabbage.

Raw and fresh turmeric is also available in the markets. You will need to use a bigger quantity of raw turmeric to replace a small quantity of dried powder. Usually fresh turmeric is ground into paste along with other ingredients for use in curries.

It is very difficult to grind dry turmeric. Therefore it is better to by turmeric in powder form, which more readily available.

Nutritional information is given here in the USDA database.