Turmeric: the gold in your kitchen
June 20264 min read
Why fresh, stone-ground turmeric beats the dusty stuff at the back of the cupboard, and how to actually taste the difference.
Turmeric is the quiet backbone of Indian cooking. It is in almost every curry, yet most people never taste it on its own, or notice when it has gone stale. Here is why freshness matters more than you think.
Curcumin fades
The compound that gives turmeric its colour and earthy warmth, curcumin, degrades with heat, light and time. Turmeric that has sat ground for a year is paler, flatter and barely perfumed. Fresh, high-curcumin stock stains a curry the second it hits the oil.
Why stone-ground
Grinding generates heat, and heat drives off the volatile oils that carry aroma. We grind slow, in small lots, so the oils stay in. You can smell the difference the moment you open the jar.
Use it well
Bloom turmeric in hot oil for a few seconds before adding other ingredients to round off its bitterness. A pinch in dal, a marinade for fish, or a warm cup of turmeric milk at night, a little goes a long way.
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