PLANT

Turmeric is a perennial herb that reaches a maximum height of about one metre.

The leaves are large, 20 to 45 cm long, with an elongated petiole.

The flowers are gathered in a showy pseudo-inflorescence with large green bracts at the bottom and white or purplish bracts at the top. The green bracts form a series of pockets, which house large yellow flowers (with possible orange tones).

The root is a large, cylindrical, branched, yellow or orange, strongly aromatic rhizome, which is the most commercially interesting part of the plant.

CULTIVATION

Like many rhizome plants, turmeric fears asphyctic soil with frequent waterlogging. The ideal soil is fertile, rich in organic matter and nutrients, deep and not compact.

Considering the tropical origin of these plants, we can guess their demand for water, which must never be lacking, especially in summer, however without excess.

USES IN THE KITCHEN

The name Indian saffron refers to the yellow colour, which is the only similarity between turmeric and saffron: from the yellow rhizome of the turmeric plant we obtain turmeric powder, a spice widely used in Indian and Asian gastronomy in general, and a yellow substance used in dyeing.

The rhizomes are boiled and dried in the sun or in an oven, after which they are crushed into a yellow-orange powder. Its active ingredient is curcumin, which has an earthy, bitter, spicy and extremely volatile taste, while the colour is preserved over time.

Turmeric powder is one of the ingredients in the Indian curry, to which it gives the characteristic deep yellow colour, but it is a key ingredient in many other Asian recipes, such as the Nepalese dish called momos (Nepalese meat dumplings) or the Thai dish called kaeng tai pla (curry with prawns and fish).