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I’m indeed a lover of natural and herbal remedies and foods. It is amazing how simple and common home spices are actually beneficial. There are many ways to use turmeric powder.
It is equally used in fresh form. This is one of the best forms of using this powerful herb. According to turmericforhealth.com, some of the essential oils of turmeric get lost in the drying process.
Personally, I use fresh turmeric but during the festive season, I prefer to have powdered turmeric at my disposal.
One significant drawback of using fresh turmeric is that it will literally paint your hand because it stains your hand a deep shade of yellow/golden-orange.
I work from home all year so it’s easier for me to walk around my home with deep orange/golden colored fingers.
What is turmeric used for Today?
- Turmeric is a root plant used for hundreds of years in cuisine and medicine, especially in Asia and the Middle east.
- Today, it still maintains these uses, primarily. Turmeric is used in many ways across food and non-western medicine.
- It is also used to spice food, and meat (especially chicken, if you haven’t been adding turmeric to your chicken, I promise you it’s a spicy chicken game changer). It adds flavor, goodness, and a distinct taste to the food.
- Turmeric can also be used in smoothies and juicing. Due to its numerous health benefits, it is often used as an ingredient in healthy drinks.
- Turmeric can be pickled too.
- It is used in still used in medicine for its health benefits. I regularly use turmeric in my meals to fight inflammation and manage ovarian cysts.
- Turmeric can be used for a herbal tea
Remember, it’s possible to be allergic to turmeric.
Health benefits of turmeric
According to Johnhopkinsmedicine.org, an oncology clinical Dietician, Mary Eve-Brown, explains that turmeric has an active ingredient called curcumin. This ingredient has high anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Basically, like many herbs and plants out there, this wonderful herb has phytonutrients that may help neutralize disease-causing radicals in the body.
Not only can It help in preventing diseases like cancer and heart disease, but it can also prevent other chronic diseases.
This herb is also helpful in managing inflammatory conditions in the body. This includes joint inflammations like arthritis, colitis, and infections.
It may also help with Metabolic problems
It may also maintain kidney health.
The active ingredient curcumin can also help with brain functions and manage anxiety.
Please note that natural turmeric has different qualities and effectiveness as a turmeric supplement. According to Johnhopkinsmedicin.org, curcumin supplements are not a great idea as they can cause kidney stones due to their high concentration of curcumin. There is advice to consume it as part of your meal.
How to make turmeric powder
what really inspired me to learn to make my own turmeric is my fear of the food industry. Long lines of medical conspiracies where supposed natural food is laced with similar-looking industrial materials. One time I bought powdered turmeric from a popular food brand and it smelled nothing like natural Tumeric. By this time, I was already familiar with the smell and taste of natural turmeric. I could smell and taste the fakeness of whatever it was because it rendered me dry-throated.
What you need to make Turmeric powder;
- Fresh turmeric
Utensils needed
- A pot/saucepan (Optional)
- A cleaning bowl
- knife
- shredder or chopping board
- Food dehydrator or oven
- Airtight container or Mason jars
Steps on making Turmeric powder from home in 4 steps;
Step 1: Wash the turmeric thoroughly to remove all dirt and external impurities like sand
step 2: Place washed turmeric into a pot, submerge with water, and boil for about 15 minutes. This step is to soften the turmeric and remove any other impurities. Again, this step in my opinion is optional. Why you I want to waste all the turmeric goodness?
If you did the optional above step is completed strain water from the pot, Allow to cool/dry.
Step 3: Otherwise, proceed to cut into specifically thin slices or shred. (put on gloves for this process if you’re uncomfortable with the color stains)
Step 4: The healthier alternative for this method is to sundry for at least 15 days. This process is limiting because you need to wait for the extremely hot weather to do this.
However, in the absence of hot sunlight, then dry the shredded/pieced turmeric with your food dehydrator or oven for 1 to 2 hours.
Step 5: Now the turmeric is dry, using your crusher or blender/food processor, grind the dried turmeric pieces into fine particles.
Step 5.1: Strain to get your finer particles into a clean dry plastic bowl and use a fine strainer. Further crush/grind any unfine leftover pieces.
Step 5.2: Lastly, pour the fine ground turmeric into airtight/ mason jars and store it for consumption.
This process may take a couple of tries to get right.
We hope you enjoy this new skill/knowledge set. Remember, self-love is about constantly growing and learning new things, to get better.
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