Ground Turmeric
Ground turmeric is a bright yellow-orange spice made from the dried, ground rhizome of the turmeric plant, prized across South and Southeast Asian cooking for its earthy flavor, deep color, and the compound curcumin.
How to buy
Buy from a source with good turnover since color and potency fade with age; the powder should be a vivid deep yellow-orange, not dull or brownish. Specialty shops sometimes carry fresher-tasting turmeric with a stronger, more peppery bite than standard supermarket tins.
How to store
Keep in an airtight container away from light and heat; it keeps its color reasonably well for a year or more but gradually loses potency, so replace it periodically. Turmeric stains readily, so expect some discoloration of light-colored utensils and containers.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Earthy, slightly bitter, and faintly peppery with a mustardy warmth; used in small amounts mostly for color and background depth, though larger amounts add real bitterness.
- Texture
- A fine, dense powder that can clump; it blooms well in hot oil or ghee, dispersing its color evenly throughout a dish.
- Aroma
- A warm, earthy, slightly musky aroma with a faint ginger-like note, since turmeric is a relative of ginger.
How to prepare
- Bloomed in oil — Toasted briefly in hot ghee or oil at the start of cooking to mellow bitterness and bind its color into a dish.
- Mixed into pastes — Combined with other spices into curry pastes and marinades.
- Steeped in milk — Simmered into golden milk (haldi doodh) with black pepper and honey.
- Used in brines — Added to pickling liquids and mustards for its color.
Classic dishes
American
- Yellow mustard — Turmeric gives American yellow mustard its signature bright color.
- Turmeric latte — A modern cafe drink adapted from the traditional golden milk.
Indian
- Turmeric rice — Rice cooked with turmeric for a golden color and mild earthiness.
- Dal tadka — Lentils colored and flavored throughout with turmeric.
- Chicken curry — Turmeric as a foundational spice in the curry base.
- Golden milk (haldi doodh) — Warm turmeric milk spiced with black pepper and sweetened with honey.
- Chana masala — A chickpea curry built on a turmeric-spiced onion-tomato base.
- Sambar — A lentil-vegetable stew colored with turmeric.
- Biryani — A layered rice dish where turmeric tints part of the rice golden.
- Achaar — Indian pickles often colored and preserved partly with turmeric.
- Turmeric-spiced cauliflower — Cauliflower roasted or sautéed with turmeric and cumin.
- Kitchari — A rice and lentil porridge seasoned with turmeric, considered a cleansing dish.
- Vindaloo — A fiery curry built with turmeric among its layered spices.
- Turmeric chicken soup — A warming broth-based dish using turmeric for color and gentle warmth.
Thai
- Yellow curry — A curry paste built largely on turmeric's color and earthiness.
British & Irish
- Piccalilli — A mustard-based vegetable pickle colored with turmeric.