Turmeric | Sybaritica

I cannot recall ever living in a home where Turmeric was not a fixture in the spice cabinet. When I was growing up, my father was always experimenting with Indian dishes and he did not just rely on commercial curry powders and the like, but always had the ‘makings’ for his own spice blends on hand. Turmeric, being so ubiquitous in Indian cookery, was always in the kitchen cupboard and, today, I, too, am never without a ready supply.

Until recently, however, my only experience with this versatile spice was with the dried variety – both the whole dried rhizome, and the bright yellow powder that can be found in most grocery stores. I knew, of course, that it was possible to buy the rhizomes in their raw state, and, while I was dying for a chance to cook with the fresh article for years, it wasn’t until I located some in a shop in Ottawa’s Chinatown that I finally got the chance.

Having grown up with Turmeric as an everyday kitchen item, it is sometimes difficult to appreciate that it is not that familiar to many westerners and I have written a ‘Spices’ post that examines it in some detail. In that post I use some slices in an experiment with boiled rice but, for some future uses, and as an experiment, I wanted to make a Turmeric Paste… Read more