Turmeric is a plant of the ginger family native to Asia. It has long been used as a powerful anti-inflammatory in both Chinese and Indian medicine. Its active ingredient is curcumin and it has a distinctly earthy, slightly bitter, peppery flavour and a mustardy smell.
It was traditionally called "Indian saffron" because of its deep yellow colour and is often used in cooking as an alternative to saffron, which is more expensive than gold (measured per gram). Turmeric can be bought in all good supermarkets in dried powder form and this way it is a lot less messy than the fresh variety (yellow fingers = not a good look).
We use it in curries, stir fries and any dishes that can handle a touch of yellow colour (salad dressing for example). We even used it in the risotto recipe (here). Be careful not to over-do it though as less is more from a flavour perspective. Try a ¼ tsp and add more if you need to. You can take turmeric as a supplement in tablet form, but this can be very expensive so we try to get it in to our food wherever possible.
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