Through the ages, turmeric has been sought as a medicinal herb. In Sanskrit Turmeric is called “Kanchani, the “Golden Goddess.” This amazing herb has long been revered by ayurvedic healers for its diverse and powerful healing properties. Herbalists familiar with turmeric’s stimulant and tonic effects have prescribed the juice extracted from the root of the plant as an internal antiseptic and an antidote to blood poisoning. In traditional folk medicine, the dried root is ground and rubbed on the skin to maintain a healthy skin. Mixed with coconut oil, it speeds the healing of wounds and minimizes scarring.

Turmeric has been valued for centuries as a natural cosmetic and dye. It is turmeric that gives the robes of Buddhist monks their vibrant saffron hue. The bright red forehead mark worn by some Hindu women is created by mixing turmeric with lime juice.

Turmeric is what makes mustard yellow. It is also the principal ingredient in curry powder. It is turmeric, in fact, that gives curry powder its characteristic deep yellow color. Turmeric is also used to add color to foods such as butter, margarine, and cheese, to tint cotton, silk, paper, wood and cosmetics, as a food preservative, and to make pickles.

A relative of ginger, Turmeric is a perennial plant that grows up to five feet high in the tropical regions of Southern Asia. It has trumpet-shaped yellow flowers. Turmeric is fragrant and has an earthy, bitter, peppery taste. Like ginger, it creates a sensation of warmth when eaten. The dried roots of Turmeric are ground into a deep yellow spice commonly used in curries and other South Asian dishes. Sangli, a town in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra, is the largest and most important trading center for Turmeric in Asia and perhaps in the entire world.

In the West we are primarily familiar with turmeric in its dried, powdered form, but in the East fresh turmeric is widely used. Fresh turmeric has a distinct flavor, very pleasing though delicate. The deep orange color of chopped fresh turmeric root imparts a rich yellow to curries, soups and stews and rice dishes. It is also used along with chopped garlic and ground white pepper to flavor the delicious turmeric fried fish so popular in Southern Thailand.

Therapeutic use of turmeric was described in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine as early as the 7th century AD. Asian folk medicine used turmeric to treat diarrhea, fever, bronchitis, colds, parasitic worms and leprosy, as well as bladder and kidney inflammations.