Turmeric - Take Two
Curry is good for you! Eat it three times per week. Turmeric is the spice that gives Indian curries that characteristic bright yellow-orange color and the benefits of turmeric seem endless.
<<Caitlin, at mermaid farm grew this turmeric. It is very difficult to find fresh turmeric outside the Chinese Grocery Stores. Don’t but it from the Chinese markets!
Turmeric is well-recognized as the best antioxidant, hypoglycemic, colorant, antiseptic and wound healer. Used in cooking as a spice for over 2,500 years, turmeric has a musty, nutty flavor similar to mustard. I often think of the golden Buddha robes as being the color of turmeric.
Turmeric is a rhizome comprised of knobby underground stems that are known for their pungent and flavorful flesh. The rhizome family includes ginger, turmeric and galangal. It is generally a tropical plant that has been used in cooking since 600 B.C. It is native to the Orient and now can be found in India and the Caribbean. It has a bitter, pungent almost woodsy flavor.
Turmeric is used in the Indian medicinal systems of Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha. It is used in the treatment of digestive disorders such as flatulence, bloating, and appetite loss. Turmeric is used internally as boiled powder, fresh juice and externally as paste, oil, ointment, and lotion and also topically for ulcers, wounds, scabies and inflammations.. Turmeric also has a long history of use for its anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic effects. It has also been studied for its anti-cancer properties and tumor-fighting activities known in nutrition-language as anti-angiogenesis. The active agent in the spice is a plant chemical, or polyphenol, called curcumin. Curcumin is a natural liver detoxifier.
Adding black pepper to turmeric or turmeric-spiced food enhances curcumin's bioavailability (the rate at which it is absorbed) by 1,000 times, due to black pepper's hot property called piperine. This is one reason it's thought that curry has both turmeric (curcumin) and black pepper combined. So in simple terms, use turmeric with black pepper as it is used together in curries.
Curcumin, extracted from turmeric, has been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and to reduce beta-amyloid and plaque burden in lab studies. Beta-amyloid is a component of the amyloid plaques that accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Make turmeric/ginger tea by boiling 4 cups of water, adding 2“ minced ginger, 1 Tablespoon ground turmeric, and 1 teaspoon black pepper then simmering it together for 10 minutes. Strain out the spices, and add honey and lemon to taste. Consume as much of this tea as you like. This will warm you all winter!
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 1/2 tablespoon dried organic turmeric -fresh is best (use 1 tablespoon if you are using fresh)
- 2 cups milk of choices such as almond, coconut, or dairy. The BEST is Raw 100% grass-fed cow milk or goat milk - (we prefer the jersey or Guernsey cows)
- or use bone broth in place of the milk for a hearty tea
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
- one tiny piece of fresh, peeled ginger root or ¼ tsp ginger powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamon
- pinch ground cloves
- pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tsp raw honey or maple syrup or to taste (optional)
- Heat the ghee and add 1 teaspoon turmeric and whisk until smooth.
- Blend all other ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth.
- Pour into a small saucepan and heat for 3-5 minutes over medium heat until hot, but not boiling