Scientific Classification


Turmeric - Grow It

Turmeric is a low growing tropical herbaceous plant, which forms many long thin rhizomes, used to produce spice and dye. Turmeric can only be grown indoors in the UK and is a little tricky to start with, but once the dormancy of the rhizome has been broken it is easy to grow as a houseplant. You will not be able to harvest much useful turmeric from your plant, although you can use the leaves for flavouring.

Cultivation

Pot on the turmeric roots as soon as the shoots are 5cm high, into shallow 15cm pots. Keep them damp and warm, in a slightly shaded position and feed during the growing season weekly with a general purpose liquid fertiliser. In dry weather plants will benefit from being lightly misted with rainwater daily.During the autumn reduce watering, and keep the plants fairly dry over winter, when they will need more light. Tumeric hates being in a draught, so site your plants carefully.

The plant

Turmeric is thought to have come from South and Southeast Asia, probably India. The plants grow as an upright herb to about 1 m tall.

Rhizome - this is a sort of underground stem. It is thick and fleshy, ringed with the bases of old leaves. This is the part which is boiled, dried and ground to make the distinctive bright yellow spice, turmeric. Turmeric only reproduces via its rhizomes.

Leaves - large, oblong, up to 1 m long. Flowers - these appear on a spike-like stalk. The flowers are yellow-white. They are sterile and do not produce viable seed.

Turmeric - History

Probably originating from India, turmeric has been used in India for at least 2500 years. It may have been cultivated first as a dye, with use as a spice coming later.

Usage

Culinary Uses

In non-Indian recipes, turmeric is sometimes used as a coloring agent. It has found application in canned beverages, baked products, dairy products, ice cream, yogurt, yellow cakes, orange juice, biscuits, popcorn color, sweets, cake icings, cereals, sauces, gelatins, etc. It is a significant ingredient in most commercial curry powders.

Turmeric (coded as E100 when used as a food additive) is used to protect food products from sunlight. The oleoresin is used for oil-containing products. The curcumin/polysorbate solution or curcumin powder dissolved in alcohol is used for water containing products. Over-coloring, such as in pickles, relishes and mustard, is sometimes used to compensate for fading.

In combination with annatto (E160b), turmeric has been used to color cheeses, yogurt, dry mixes, salad dressings, winter butter and margarine. Turmeric is also used to give a yellow color to some prepared mustards, canned chicken broths and other foods (often as a much cheaper replacement for saffron).

Turmeric is widely used as a spice in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking. Momos (Nepali meat dumplings), a traditional dish in South Asia, are spiced with turmeric.

Turmeric - Traditional Medicine

Turmeric has been used for many conditions in traditional medicine in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The rhizome is generally the part of the plant that is most widely used. It can be prepared in various ways and is reputed to alleviate asthma and coughs. Many of its traditional uses are supported by scientific evidence.

Ayurvedic Medicine

Hot water extracts of the dried rhizome have been taken orally in Ayurvedic medicine to reduce inflammation. Turmeric is also regarded as a 'rasayana' herb, which is a branch of Ayurvedic medicine. Here turmeric is used to counteract ageing processes.

Unani Medicine

In Unani medicine, turmeric has been used for conditions such as liver obstruction and jaundice and has been applied externally for ulcers and inflammation.

Roasted turmeric has been used as an ingredient of a preparation used for dysentery. Turmeric has also been used in tooth powder or paste. A hot water extract of the dried rhizome has been taken orally to slow lactation, to regulate fat metabolism, for diabetes, diarrhoea, liver diseases and has been taken as a tonic and to calm the stomach. The fresh juice taken regularly on an empty stomach has been used to prevent stomach disorders. A hot water extract of the dried rhizome is regarded as having an abortion promoting effect when taken orally or in the form of a pessary.

External Applications

Externally the dried rhizome has been applied to fresh wounds and to insect stings and to help the healing process in chickenpox and smallpox. Turmeric is also reported to give a good complexion to the skin and has been applied externally to remove hair and to act as a tonic, and to alleviate itching. Inhalation of turmeric smoke is reputed to relieve hiccups.

Use With Other Plants

The rhizomes of turmeric have also been mixed with other plants to produce remedies for a range of conditions including tonsillitis, headaches, wounds, snake bites, stings, sprains and fractured bones.
Turmeric - western medicine
Turmeric is not widely used in Western medicine, but it is used to treat some conditions. Studies show that the rhizomes contain compounds that have therapeutic effects. This supports its use in traditional medicine.

Active Compounds

Turmeric has been shown to have anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-oxidant, anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory and possibly anti-cancer effects.

It contains yellow pigments called curcuminoids. One example of a curcuminoid is curcumin. It has been suggested that curcuminoids may have a beneficial effect in some cancerous conditions, when applied externally. Other experimental studies suggest curcumin may have protective effects on the liver.Some studies suggest that components of the essential oil, such as ar-tumerone, have anti-snake venom activity. The essential oil is also reported to have some insect repellent and insecticidal activity.

Turmeric - Food

Turmeric is widely cultivated for its rhizomes which are used as a bright yellow-orange culinary spice. It has been know as poor man's saffron because it offers a less expensive alternative yellow colouring.

Flavouring & Colouring

The rhizomes of turmeric plants can be cured for use as a spice by boiling and steaming. They can also be boiled in water, dried, peeled then ground. Turmeric is an important yellow food dye and is added to many Indian dishes including curries. It is also added to pickles and can be used instead of saffron to add colour and flavour to rice. Ground turmeric rhizomes are used to make turmeric oil that is used in the industrial production of flavouring for curries. Turmeric was often hung in kitchens as a good luck charm and a small rhizome was sometimes tied to the pots in the kitchen for luck.

In Europe and the USA turmeric is widely used as a colouring agent in processed foods, sauces, pharmaceuticals, confectionery and textile dyes.


Turmeric – crafts:Turmeric rhizomes yield a bright yellow dye which is used as a colouring for foods, textiles, paints and even people! Its primary use is in crafts as a fabric dye.

Dyes :To prepare the yellow dye, the dried or fresh rhizomes are ground to a paste with water. The resulting dye has always been popular during the Hindu festival Holi, which people celebrate by covering themselves with bright dyes. Now synthetic dyes tend to be used instead, but these can be harmful to the skin. Making natural dyes from plants like turmeric is safer.

Few people still use traditional dyeing techniques in South Asia, but turmeric dye gives a yellow colouring to silk, cotton and wool. The yarn or fabric is dipped into the liquid, or the dye can be painted directly onto fabric. Another ingredient called alum might also be added. Alum works as a mordant and helps the dye to bond with the fabric. Even using alum, turmeric dye tends to fade over time. Various shades of yellow can be made, depending upon which other ingredients are used and how much turmeric is added.

Colour Intensity

The colour of turmeric can vary depending on whether the liquid it is mixed with is alkali or acid. In an alkali solution it will turn red, but if acid is added to neutralise the alkali then the colour will change to yellow. This can be seen in traditional dyeing techniques where acid might be added at various stages. For one technique in Calcutta, turmeric and Fuller's earth was used. This makes an alkali solution, so acidic lime juice was added to neutralise it. Other acids which were used include sour milk, dried mango in water or tamarind water.

Turmeric is also mixed with other dyes to make different colours. Traditionally when dyeing silk yarn, the yarn would first be dyed with turmeric to give a richer colour. Orange colours can be made in different ways using yellow turmeric paste, red pigment from safflowers and acidic mango rind in water. To make green, cloth can be dyed yellow with turmeric and then blue with indigo or vice versa.

Paints

Turmeric is also used to make a yellow paint for various folk painting traditions in Madhya Pradesh. Turmeric - cosmetics : Extracts have been added to creams for use as a colouring agent and traditionally women would rub turmeric into their cheeks to produce a golden glow. The yellow pigment in turmeric is a compound called curcumin.

Skincare & Colouring

In Hindu wedding ceremonies brides would rub turmeric over their bodies. Newborn babies had turmeric rubbed on to their forehead for good luck and they would be given a turmeric necklace to wear to keep away evil spirits. In India pieces of the rhizomes are added to water to make an infusion that is used in baths. It is reported that washing in turmeric improves skin tone and reduces hair growth.

Turmeric - Other uses An unusual use for turmeric is in the chemistry laboratory. Turmeric goes brown in the presence of alkaline (basic) substances, such as baking powder. Strips of paper soaked in turmeric can therefore be used as an indicator.

Indicator Paper

Turmeric is used in the laboratory alongside litmus papers, which turn blue in the presence of alkalis and red in the presence of acids. Turmeric paper was familiar to Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829), inventor of the miner's safety lamp.