8 useful facts about turmeric

Take a look at why turmeric is a plant used in cooking and medicine. You can also follow the advice below in order to grow it in your own garden.

Usable parts: The rhizomes

• In Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, turmeric is a tonic, blood purifier and a remedy against arthritis, skin problems such as psoriasis and digestive or liver problems.
• Curcumin is an active compound with many therapeutic effects. Turmeric has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, protects the liver and increases the secretion of bile.
• It also helps regulate cholesterol levels and relieve arteries.
• Recent research has attributed it to certain beneficial effects on some cancers, and clinical trials have demonstrated its ability to reduce symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and postoperative inflammation.
• It is also effective for indigestion, ulcers of the stomach and intestinal disorders.
• Do not exceed the quantities used in cooking if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Buy plump, firm and clean rhizomes, which give off a warm, light aroma and a musky flavour of earth.

• Used fresh, dried and ground, turmeric gives a beautiful yellow colour to your dishes.
• It is present in curry powders and pastes, condiments, chutneys, and goes with vegetables, rice and lentils, poultry, fish and shellfish.

• Turmeric belongs to the ginger family. It is a perennial herb that forms a tuft of one metre high, with elliptical and pointed foliage; it spreads out with its rhizomes of red-brown to bright yellow flesh.
• Small yellow flowers are arranged in conical spikes.
• Related species include wild turmeric ( Curcuma aromatica ), with its many medicinal uses, and zedoaria ( C. zedoaria ), with its leaves smelling of citrus and very fragrant and aromatic rhizomes, which are used in medicine and in cooking.

• Turmeric needs a minimum temperature of 10 ° C in the winter.

• Divide sections of rhizomes in spring.

• Remove the dead foliage in winter.
• Keep the plant mostly dry during dormancy.

• In cold and wet periods, the rhizomes rot.

• Pull out the rhizomes when plants are dormant.
• Heat or boil before drying and grinding.