Turmeric

Turmeric - use in the kitchen

Flavor profile It is best to use turmeric sparingly, because a small pinch is enough to give the dish a beautiful golden color and a characteristic flavor. This spice commonly used in curry dishes has a delicate spicy flavor and aroma with a distinct hint of spicy - ginger and pepper. It goes particularly well with poultry and fish dishes, giving them a warm color and bringing out the natural flavor of the meat. Our turmeric has a unique taste, intense color and the highest quality, because we control every step in the production process. It is grown in the most fertile soil and in regions with a suitable climate. Before we get the powdered seasoning, the turmeric rhizomes are first boiled or steamed, and then dried, ground and sealed to keep them fresh. Thanks to this, we are sure that our turmeric is second to none.

The best culinary combinations Turmeric goes well with meat dishes, curries, soups and vegetable spreads. It also works great as an addition to many dishes with lots of lentils, rice or vegetables. Turmeric can add variety to a classic latte and turn boiled rice into aromatic pilaf. You can also combine it with butter and pour the prepared mixture over the vegetables, which will enrich their taste. If you want to add depth to the flavor, add turmeric to spaghetti bolognese, pasta casseroles or stir-fry dishes. With a pinch of this spice, you can also change the face of many popular drinks, such as milk, smoothies or flat white coffee.

Turmeric is one of the staple spices in the Middle East - it is included in curry, for example. Turmeric is also an essential ingredient in mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Ground turmeric is an excellent addition to stews, soups and rice. It gives a distinctive flavor to broth, poultry, fish and seafood dishes. You can add it to marinades. Turmeric is also a substitute for saffron - one of the most expensive spices in the world. It is worth knowing that turmeric is used in the food industry as a dye with the number E100.

Do you know that…?

• in Bangladesh, India and Indonesia, the dye turmeric is part of the wedding ritual. Turmeric is dyed gold on the shoulders and cheeks of the bride and groom
• India is the world's largest producer of turmeric
• turmeric is also used in European cuisine, e.g. as a seasoning for English coronation chicken
• turmeric belongs to the ginger family

How to Season Your Food with Turmeric?

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon is enough for 4 servings, e.g. soup, meat or pasta.

Cooking recipe related to this spice: Curry burger with crunchy cucumber salad in yogurt sauce

Turmeric and curcumin - properties and application

Turmeric is a spice whose properties have long been used in both the kitchen and traditional medicine of the Far East. Turmeric has been used, among others, in in the relief of menstrual pain, stomach ailments and the treatment of difficult to heal wounds and scars. All mainly thanks to a compound called curcumin - a polyphenol with many healing properties. Read how turmeric affects your health.

Turmeric has a ginger-like flavor and a strong, spicy, bitter taste. This spice comes from India, it is obtained from the root similar to ginger. The properties of turmeric are appreciated primarily in Asian cuisine. It is turmeric (specifically one of its ingredients - curcumin) that gives the characteristic yellow-orange color to curry dishes. The use of turmeric in the coloring of food products dates back to 600 BC. In 700 CE this spice came to China.

From the records of Hindu and Chinese healers, you can learn about the many beneficial effects of turmeric. It has been used to relieve menstrual cramps, respiratory diseases, parasitic diseases, liver obstruction, ulcers and inflammation. Currently, the properties of turmeric are being studied by scientists who argue that it has a much wider effect.

Turmeric supports the work of the brain. May prevent Alzheimer's disease Turmeric can accelerate the repair processes in the human brain, argued in 2014 German scientists from the Institute of Medicine and Neurophysiology in Julich in the journal "Stem Cell Research and Therapy".

All thanks to the content of tumeron - a compound that stimulates the multiplication and differentiation of nerve cells in the brain and can help repair the brain after an illness or injury. Scientists speculate that in the future, tumeron can be used to treat Alzheimer's disease or stroke. A similar discovery was made earlier, in 2007, by Dr. Milan Fiala from the University of California in Los Angeles.

In the periodical "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" he argued that a substance called BDMC (the active ingredient of curcuminoids - natural substances found in turmeric rhizomes) stimulates the immune system to destroy proteins, the deposits of which inhibit the transmission of nerve signals in certain areas in the brain, causing in patients with memory impairment and personality disorders. These deposits are also responsible for the death of neurons. The research therefore gives hope that the discovered substance will be used to treat Alzheimer's patients.

Turmeric - anti-cancer properties

Turmeric also contains another valuable ingredient - curcumin. Many studies prove that this polyphenol has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant effects and may be useful in the prevention and treatment of many cancers, such as:

• skin cancer
• lung cancer
• oral cancer
• head and neck tumors
• esophageal cancer
• stomach cancer
• liver cancer
• pancreatic cancer
• cancer of the small intestine
• colon cancer
• bladder cancer
• prostate cancer
• breast cancer
• cervical cancer
• lymphomas

For example, in an animal study with skin cancer, turmeric reduced the size of tumors by 30 percent and their incidence by 87 percent. compared to the control group.

In contrast, in patients with precancerous gut polyps who received curcumin for 6 months, the number of polyps decreased by an average of 60% and their size was reduced by half. Other scientists have found that in mice with breast cancer, curcumin inhibits lung metastasis. It also turned out that curcumin supports the action of Taxol, a drug used in the treatment of breast cancer - thanks to it, the treatment is less toxic to the body, and at the same time more effective. Still, curcumin cannot be considered a cancer drug. The belief that curcumin intravenous infusions, which are becoming increasingly popular, will cure cancer patients is not true!

Turmeric for digestive ailments

Turmeric has choleretic properties, stimulates the secretion of gastrin, secretin and pancreatic enzymes, has a mild anti-inflammatory, antibacterial effect (including H. pylori, which is responsible for stomach ulcers) and relaxes. Currently, turmeric is used as an ingredient in combined preparations used in pancreatic dysfunction as well as in digestive disorders.

In addition, turmeric substances have a protective effect on liver cells. It is also a component of many drugs used in conditions of liver damage and failure, manifested by insufficient bile secretion, also in inflammation of the liver parenchyma and cholangitis.

Curcumin - dietary supplements

Curcumin is only 2-5 percent. turmeric. Therefore, people who want to find out about its healing properties should reach for turmeric rhizome extracts, which are commonly sold as dietary supplements.

Unfortunately, curcumin is poorly absorbed when ingested. The solution is to take it with black pepper, which contains piperine, which significantly improves the absorption of curcumin (some supplements already contain black pepper fruit extract).

Turmeric will strengthen immunity, fight infections

Scientists from Oregon State University (USA) and the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) have found that curcumin may slightly but visibly raise cathelicidin (CAMP) levels, a peptide that helps prevent bacterial (including tuberculosis), viral and fungal infections. However, if the infection does develop, turmeric may also prove to be irreplaceable. The curcumin contained in it can be used in the treatment of viral infections - argued in 2012 Prof. Aarthi Narayanan from George Mason University in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The researcher comes from India and in her childhood she was treated for minor infections with turmeric. Therefore, she decided to investigate the properties of this spice and found that curcumin would also work for more serious infections.

It can inhibit the dangerous Riff Valley viruses from multiplying in cells. Perhaps curcumin will also prove to be helpful against other viruses - including alphaviruses that cause Venezuelan equine meningitis. The researcher argues that by inhibiting the multiplication of the virus, curcumin can both improve the patient's well-being and facilitate the action of appropriate antiviral agents.

This will be useful to you

• Turmeric powder should be purchased in small quantities and from a reliable seller.
• Unpeeled turmeric should be wrapped tightly and refrigerated for up to three weeks. Turmeric powder should be stored in resealable bags or bottles.
• Fresh turmeric should have roots with a spicy aroma and healthy rhizomes.
• Turmeric is usually steamed, then dried and ground into a powder.
• When preparing turmeric, be careful - it stains your hands and dyes clothes.

Turmeric in eye diseases

Preliminary studies have also shown a beneficial effect of turmeric in the treatment of dry eye syndrome, conjunctivitis, glaucoma, and ischemic retinopathy, but more research is needed.

Turmeric lowers blood sugar and cholesterol

Studies show that curcumin lowers blood sugar levels in rats that were induced diabetes with alloxan. Curcumin also lowered cholesterol, alleviated kidney damage, and improved wound healing in mice and rats that were diabetic induced with streptozotocin.

Deadly intravenous turmeric

In traditional South Asian folk medicine, turmeric has been used for centuries - orally, of course - as a medicine for various diseases. Some advocates of alternative medicine have taken it a step further and decided to use turmeric intravenously. The victim of such "therapy" was Jade Erick of San Diego, California. The American woman died after being given an intravenous dose of turmeric as part of a natural treatment for atopic dermatitis, The Independent reports.

Turmeric paste recipe:

All it takes is water, turmeric, and a little pepper to make a very healthy paste, which is the perfect natural remedy and can help with many ailments.

Turmeric - use in cosmetics

Currently, turmeric is used to color lipsticks, make-up foundations, and hair rinses. Turmeric oil, on the other hand, is often an ingredient in perfumes with an oriental note. On the basis of turmeric, you can also prepare a mask with antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, which is intended for oily and acne-prone skin. Such a mask is also a proven method of discoloration.

Recipe for an anti-acne turmeric mask

Pour 1 teaspoon of turmeric into a bowl, add 1 teaspoon of honey and add a little milk (about 1-2 teaspoons). Mix all ingredients thoroughly until thick. Put the mask on your face - you can do it with your hands (you must wear gloves because it stains), but it can also be conveniently applied with the outer part of the spoon. Wash off the mask after about 20 minutes. Due to the fact that the mask colors the face, it is best to apply it at night. To get rid of the yellow skin tone, you can wash your face with a cotton ball soaked in buttermilk or natural yoghurt.

Turmeric and water solubility

Regarding the publicly available information on the Internet about adding flour to turmeric to increase its volume and leave a sediment at the bottom, we inform you that: Curcumin, the main ingredient in turmeric, is insoluble in water or very slightly soluble. When dissolved in water, it will always leave a residue. However, it is soluble in alcohol and oils, incl. in olive oil. Turmeric is a single ingredient product, it does not contain any additives. There are water-soluble curcumin salts on the market that allow for its wider use. In connection with the above, we do not accept complaints about the resulting sediment as a result of dissolving turmeric in water.