Turmeric is a spice that comes from the turmeric plant. It is commonly used in Asian food. You probably know turmeric as the main spice in curry. It has a warm, bitter taste and is frequently used to flavour or colour curry powders, mustards, butters, and cheeses. But the root of turmeric is also used widely to make medicine. It contains a yellow-coloured chemical called Curcumin, which is often used to colour foods and cosmetics.
Turmeric is used for arthritis, heartburn (dyspepsia), joint pain, stomach pain, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, bypass surgery, hemorrhage, diarrhea, intestinal gas, stomach bloating, loss of appetite, jaundice, liver problems, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, stomach ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gallbladder disorders, high cholesterol, a skin condition called lichen planus, skin inflammation from radiation treatment, and fatigue.
To get the most out of turmeric, it is best to combine it with black pepper, which contains piperine which increases curcumin’s absorption.
Turmeric is fat-soluble, which means that it doesn’t fully dissolve unless it is in fat. No fat, means no dissolving of curcumin, which is the active ingredient in turmeric. In this recipe our fat source is coconut oil.
How much turmeric can you take in a day?
If you want anti-inflammatory effects you need to get 500 – 1,000 milligrams of curcuminoids per day. When using the actual spice, the common rule of thumb is that there are 200 milligrams of curcumin in one teaspoon of fresh or ground turmeric.
So based on this information, I usually put 1 1/2 tablespoons of turmeric in this recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups water
1/2 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon coconut oil
4 tablespoons unflavored gelatin powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine water, turmeric, pepper and coconut oil in a saucepan. Heat on meadium heat stirring constantly for 5 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and let stand for about a minute.
3. Sprinkle the gelatin over the warm mixture. Let stand for a minute, the whisk vigorously until gelatin melts (approximately one minute)
4. Pour into a 9 X 9 glass dish (or gelatin mold). Refrigerate for 2 hours until it sets.
5. Once it’s set, cut it with a sharp knife into small bite size portions and store in an air-tight container.
Other Names:
Curcuma, Curcuma aromatica, Curcuma domestica, Curcumae longa, Curcumae Longae Rhizoma, Curcumin, Curcumine, Curcuminoid, Curcuminoide, Curcuminoides, Curcuminoids, Halada, Haldi, Haridra, Indian Saffron, Nisha, Pian Jiang Huang, Racine de Curcuma, Radix Curcumae, Rajani, Rhizoma Cucurmae Longae, Safran Bourbon, Safran de Batallita, Safran des Indes, Turmeric Root, Yu Jin.