Topic: Fresh Turmeric vs powdered

[Bob-A-Job]

Hi all,

I am always looking for new recipes and blends and today I found a recipe for an interesting Masala that I might be able to 'tweak' to my own preferences, once I have tried it several times of course.  The recipe calls for Fresh Turmeric, peeled, dry roasted and then powdered (along with all the other ingredients of course).

Now, I must have been living under a rock as I am totally familiar with ginger root but I have never seen Turmeric before and yet a quick search shows that it is widely available, even in some of the 'Big 4' supermarkets, so:

Q1.  Is this something you would bother with in any of your recipes or for pure convenience just use powdered?
Q2  Which would you recommend (a reason would be really helpful to me but not necessary)?

I look forward to your opinions, thanks in advance.
BAJ

[Peripatetic Phil]

I have used fresh turmeric in a base, but did not find that it added anything over and above that added by the normal ground version.
** Phil.

[livo]

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the fresh.. My wife brings it home from her workplace garden and uses it grated into her healthy drink concoctions but whenever I cook I just use powdered.  The process you describe is pretty much just making your own powdered form from scratch anyway plus you will find it very difficult to grind to powder?  Have you ever tried to grind or powder dried ginger?  Similar to trying to powder gravel.  I strongly doubt it will make any difference at all.

Here's a short interesting read on the subject.  https://www.herbies.com.au/spices/turmeric-explained/

I buy 5 kg bags of the stuff from the Indian grocers in Sydney every time I go as my wife also uses it as a dietary supplement for her horses.  Interestingly, the Indian proprietors of these stores have no idea of the difference between Madras and Alleppey or of Curcumin content.  Blank confused looks is the usual response.  They simply sell Turmeric.

[Sverige]

I

[chewytikka]

Waste of time, unless you become a purest.
Galangal is an interesting root to explore, has a great flavour.

[Bob-A-Job]

Thanks to everybody for the responses.

Have you ever tried to grind or powder dried ginger?

I have a kitchen gadget that I use for wet and dry grinding (I got a separate dry grinder only for coffee beans as I think the flavours were sometimes crossing over even though I thought I had cleaned it well).  I have used both wet ginger root and ginger powder in it to make pastes and such but I have not tried grinding dried ginger root so I guess I will take your advice and leave it to 'industrial' grinders.

Waste of time, unless you become a purest.
Galangal is an interesting root to explore, has a great flavour.

I wouldn't say purest but I have been 'down the rabbit hole' several times too many for no discernible (to me) benefit in taste/flavour but which have often required a lot more prep. time and in some cases expense.  Galangal - I will bear in mind as it sounds ideal for some stirfry's that I make (usually in summer months) which also gives me some time to see if I can find it locally.

Thanks again.
BAJ

[fried]

I've used it fresh, along with galangal in Thai/Laotian dishes. Never seen an Indian recipe asking for it.

[Bob-A-Job]

Never seen an Indian recipe asking for it.

I am not entirely certain which side of the border it is from but I was looking at a recipe for "Kashmiri Masala/ Spice Mix Recipe".

BAJ

[madpower]

I would use the powder,i dont know why some recipes call for you to go to all that trouble when using turmeric powder is just as good if not better,i thought grinding my own spices may improve my curries a tad but the turmeric was harsh and you could taste it through the whole dish