Topic: WHY must you boil turmeric?

[careyjames]

fresh turmeric, do you really have to boil it before dehydrating and grinding it into a powder??
what is the reason for boiling it for 30 mins....??

I want to make my curry sauce as fresh as possible and make my own curry powder. (kari podi)

I know that turmeric has medicinal value to it and I DONT want to weaken it by cooking (until the actual moment of cooking the dish) if it is not necessary ....

So, what do real indian chefs do?
what do real indian grandmas do?

and WHY is the reason for boiling first if I truly must...?

[Peripatetic Phil]

A very interesting question.  I will look in Dr J S Pruthi's Spices & Condiments and see what he has to say ...

"Curing of the rhizomes is essential for the development of the attractive yellow colour and the aroma ...  The fingers and bulbs are boiled separately for 1/2 to 3/4 hour until froth and white fumes appear.  They are then drained and dried in the sun for 10 to 15 days until they become dry and hard.  At this stage the fingers produce a metallic sound when broken by hand.  They are then cleaned and polished mechanically in a drum rotated by hand or by power.  Earlier, cow dung used to be added to the water to make it alkaline, and after removal the fingers used to be artificially coloured with lead chromate which is a cumulative poison.  A simpler, more hygienic technique of curing and colouring requires the rhizomes to be boiled in lime water or sodium bicarbonate solution.  A solution containing 20 grammes sodium bisulphite and 20 grammes hydrochloric acid per 100 pounds of tubers is recommended."

After J S Pruthi, Ph.D., Spices and Condiments, National Book Trust, India.  ISBN-10 81-237-2243-5.

** Phil.

[careyjames]

Thank you for that phil.

I must say the bulk industrial references and lack of WHY still make me wonder....

If my goal is to create the most fresh and gourmet quality of powder turmeric on the planet then I must know WHY.

Is it to release a something or other ?

Is it because it would be too bitter?

I see some people online saying both ways, like a woman from nepal says they just slice, dry and powder.

I want to understand once and for all the strength and medicinal beauty of this root so that I can honor its inner strength in my powder...

Thank you for the replies!

[Secret Santa]

From http://www.appropedia.org/Turmeric_%28Practical_Action_Brief%29

Curing

Before drying, the turmeric rhizomes have to be cured. This involves boiling the roots to soften them and remove the raw odour. After curing, the starch is gelatinised, which reduces the drying time required, and the colour is uniformly distributed throughout the rhizome. The specifications for curing turmeric vary from different places. The Indian Institute of Spice Research and the Agricultural Research Centre recommend boiling in plain water for 45 minutes until froth appears at the surface and the typical turmeric aroma is released. Using this method, the colour will deteriorate if the rhizomes are boiled for too long. However, if not boiled for long enough, the rhizome will be brittle. The optimum stage is reached when the rhizomes are soft to touch or can be pierced by a blunt piece of wood.


Other researchers recommend boiling the rhizomes in an alkaline solution, made from 0.05% to 1.0% sodium carbonate or lime (calcium carbonate). The alkaline water is thought to improve the final colour of the dried turmeric. Because the fingers and bulbs are of different size and thickness to each other, it is important that they are cured in different batches. The curing time is dependent on the age, variety and size and thickness of the rhizomes and varies from one to four or six hours. It is also affected by the size of the batch ? smaller batches generally produce a higher quality dried turmeric as the curing process is easier to control and monitor. It is recommended to use perforated containers with a capacity of 50-75kg. The perforated containers are immersed in the boiling water for the required cooking time. This method allows the boiling water to be used for more than one batch of turmeric. The best time for curing is two to three days after harvest. If it is delayed after this then the rhizomes may start to deteriorate. The benefits of curing turmeric include the following:

?Reduction of drying time
?More even colour distribution throughout the rhizome
?A more attractive (not wrinkled) product that is easier to polish
?Sterilisation of the rhizomes before drying.

I can't help thinking that the whole process is anything but simple and a quality, pre ground product is probably going to beat anything you attempt to make unless you're considering doing it on an industrial scale. Best of luck getting three consecutive weeks of sun if you're in the UK too!  ;D

[Peripatetic Phil]

A part of the answer to your "why" is that the pigment(s) in turmeric are pH-sensitive (i.e., it/they behave in a manner similar to litmus), so a part of the process will involve ensuring that all parts of the root are at the optimal pH for colour development.  As to the aroma, the Food Additive User's Handbook [1] says "The basic turmeric extract has a spicy flavour and aroma, whereas the circumin pigment has little flavour or aroma".

** Phil.
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[1] Food Additive User's Handbook, James S Smith (ed.), Springer Science & Business Media, 9 Mar 2013 - Technology & Engineering - 286 pages

[careyjames]

Secret Santa:

in response to "the benefits of curing"

*Reduction of drying time - I have a dehydrator and don't mind setting it on low temp for 12 hours.
*More even colour distribution throughout the rhizome - I want the natural color and don't need to package it up and ship it off, so 8 months later it does not need to be still glowing in a bag over seas.
I'm gonna make it and use it that week.
*A more attractive (not wrinkled) product that is easier to polish - not trying to make an impressive package for industry. I want a gourmet organic experience that will be used in a week or so.
*Sterilisation of the rhizomes before drying.- ok, is the sterilization to keep me from getting sick? or is it the kind that weakens the medicinal/flavor value?

I'm sorry for pressing the issue so viciously , yet I am looking for a definitive answer and I want to know if these people who are just slicing and drying are:
A. getting less or more flavor
B. getting less or more medicinal value
C. is medicinal value diminished when you go for chef and flavor value.


and to PHIL [Chaa006]
if it is PH sensitive, then what you are saying is that ONLY after boiling is when the aroma and flavor come out? and that the circumin pigment is the way it is raw?
so must we really put lime in it when we boil?

AND

what if I do both?
like a blend?
one half boiled and one half fresh sliced and powdered mixed in together?

[Peripatetic Phil]

if it is PH sensitive, then what you are saying is that ONLY after boiling is when the aroma and flavour come out?

That is my belief.  And I also believe that the boiling has to take place in an aqueous medium of the correct pH in order for this to happen.

and that the circumin pigment is the way it is raw?

No, the exact relationship between curing and the extracting of turmeric extract v. circumin is still unclear  me; I quoted standard texts, but did not claim to necessarily fully understand them   My belief (and it is only a belief, not yet substantiated by facts) is that the initial boiling is intended to remove the circumin component, which if allowed to remain would dilute the turmeric extract, adversely affecting its aroma and flavour.

so must we really put lime in it when we boil?

Certainly you must achieve the correct pH by adding /an/ alkali, but that alkali does not have to be lime ...

** Phil.

[careyjames]

so, if i truly must boil AND in an alkaline .... WHAT?

just baking soda or what would I buy?

what about this?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/dining/15curious.html?_r=0

"Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, which already includes one proton and so has a limited ability to take up more. But if you heat baking soda, its molecules react with one another to give off water and carbon dioxide and form solid sodium carbonate, which is proton-free.

Just spread a layer of soda on a foil-covered baking sheet and bake it at 250 to 300 degrees for an hour. You’ll lose about a third of the soda’s weight in water and carbon dioxide, but you gain a stronger alkali. Keep baked soda in a tightly sealed jar to prevent it from absorbing moisture from the air. And avoid touching or spilling it. It’s not lye, but it’s strong enough to irritate."

OK, so How much of this would I put in my boiling water?
AND why do many people just say boil AND don't even mention the alkaline....?

[Peripatetic Phil]

OK, so How much of this would I put in my boiling water?

0,05% to 0,1%; aim for a pH of 7.5 -- 8.0 ("slightly alkaline").

AND why do many people just say boil AND don't even mention the alkaline....?

Perhaps they are more concerned with removing the aroma of raw turmeric than they are with achieving the most desirable colour.  Also, the pH of potable water varies enormously; if your drinking water is naturally alkaline, you may need add no lime at all; if your drinking water is acidic, add as recommended above.

As an aside, don't forget that "curing should be carried out within two to three days of harvest, to avoid rhizome spoilage" [1].  If you are not growing your own, that may be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.

** Phil.
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[1] https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=P2ykHQi6RvMC&pg=PA195&lpg=PA195&dq=%22curing+turmeric%22&source=bl&ots=OUP-eb2gXY&sig=Bd3cBB1Efdro_3H9bnzl-B22O0M&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAWoVChMI1KKdyIGIxgIVDErbCh2pqQAP#v=onepage&q=%22curing%20turmeric%22&f=false

[livo]

I know that turmeric has medicinal value to it and I DONT want to weaken it by cooking (until the actual moment of cooking the dish) if it is not necessary ....

Do you know for sure that the medicinal value of Tumeric is lessened by industrial or home cooking?  If you are going to reduce it's medicinal value in the actual moment of cooking anyway, what difference would it make?  It seems to be a lot of faffing about to maybe get something that might or might not be better or worse than the store bought powder anyway.

"Just a few grams of turmeric per day either in the form of powder, crushed root or fresh root can provide enough nutrients to help you keep away from anaemia, neuritis, memory disorders and offer protection against cancers, infectious diseases, high blood pressure, and strokes. " [1]

The only thing I can see that would be affected by the boiling / drying / grinding process is that it's high vitamin C content when fresh would reduce or be lost completely as it is water soluble.  Does dietary fibre diminish in the ground form?

The only other difference between fresh and boiled / dried I can find reference to is in relation to the flavour.  I would think that if you obtain fresh rhizomes and boil and dry them yourself, you are just replicating what has already been done in the processed product anyway.

[1]http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/turmeric.html