USING FRESH TURMERIC

FRESH TURMERIC

Lots of people are using fresh turmeric these days. Just as with fresh ginger vs powdered ginger, the benefits of fresh turmeric vs powdered are essentially the same. But if you worry that the powdered isn’t organic and/or you just want the taste of fresh, then buy fresh.

The first time I had fresh turmeric I peeled and cut off a piece and chewed it pretty much like one would chew tobacco to extract the juices for maximum benefit. I don’t however recommend this. Several hours later I noticed to my horror that my teeth, gums and tongue were all a bright orange. It took days of brushing to remove the stains. Others I talked to who had tried fresh turmeric said that didn’t happen to them, but they ate it along with something else – mainly fresh fruit.

It goes especially well with apples and pears. Use it in soups, where you add it peeled and grated into each bowl as a topper. Sprinkle it grated over salads. Including sliced radishes in the salad makes the turmeric not stand alone in texture and flavor.

I use powdered turmeric in a lot of different recipes. In scrambled, baked of fried tofu it imparts a hint of an egg taste. You can use it in bean dishes to enhance the flavor of the beans, and in rice dishes for color and flavor depth. I’ll often put it in homemade veggie burgers, even cookies. So, experiment.

As I’m writing this, I’m drinking a juice glass of carrot juice with a teaspoon of powdered turmeric for it’s anti-inflammatory properties.  Rather than take an over the counter pain med, I’m going to give it a try once a day to see if it helps the pain in my hip.

Turmeric has a flavor whereby if you like it, you do, if you don’t, you don’t. Try it and see what you think.

Turmeric is not the same as saffron. It’s in the same color family, that’s it. Saffron flavor will stand out in any place you put it. Turmeric blends in and remains fairly indistinct; it’s more an enhancer than an influencer.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF TURMERIC

You may know turmeric as the deep-yellow spice in Indian curries. Or perhaps you recognize it as the ingredient that makes classic American mustard bright yellow. Maybe you have a jar of ground turmeric buried in your cupboards, or recently spotted fresh turmeric root in the produce aisle at your supermarket. It’s that knobby orange thing that looks like a cross between a small piece of ginger and a carrot.