Here's a Hot Tip: Ferment Your Turmeric!
There’s lots of talk right now about best practices regarding your immune system—the overall goal being to boost it and keep it strong. In the discussion you’ll almost always hear turmeric being recommended. And rightly so; this spice has powerful health-enhancing benefits.
With that in mind, here’s a hot tip: To enhance turmeric’s immune-boosting wallop, ferment it. In five minutes of your time (plus two days to ferment), you can create a base for a month’s supply of tasty and healing fermented turmeric tea.
Best known for its characteristic bright orange-yellow color and as a signature ingredient in curry, turmeric is the small rhizome (root) of a ginger relative. It has a musky aroma and a flavor that is both slightly astringent and bitter. The active ingredient in turmeric, curcumin, quells inflammation, supports digestion, deactivates carcinogens and prevents the release of histamines in the stomach, which counteracts food allergies. Turmeric also has antiseptic, antifungal and antibacterial properties.
Studies show turmeric isn’t always easily absorbed and that people with compromised health aren’t able to fully utilize its active ingredients (curcumin and other curcuminoids). So here’s another reason to ferment it: this process makes it easier to assimilate its medicinal properties. A study published in the International Journal of Food Science and Technology found that the antioxidant power of turmeric increases when it is fermented. Fermentation not only concentrates the curcuminoids but also mitigates its bitter flavor.
You can ferment either fresh or dried turmeric to make a turmeric concentrate that can be stirred into tea. Dried turmeric, which has been cooked and cured, has a milder flavor and aroma than fresh.
Fresh turmeric is pricy, but a little goes a long way. Look for rhizomes that are crisp and evenly colored. They’ll keep at home for several weeks in the refrigerator. When using dried turmeric, purchase organic turmeric from a reputable source, as nonorganic turmeric may be adulterated.
This turmeric tea base recipe is such that you can use either dried or fresh turmeric, or a combination of both.
1/2 cup fresh turmeric or 1/3 cup ground turmeric
2 tablespoons raw honey
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 ounce fresh ginger grated (optional)
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
This is such a good drink that you’ll find you can enjoy a dollop of the fresh base straight from the jar. The odds are you’ll find a number of ways to use fermented turmeric such as adding it to a salad dressing, smoothies, even certain soup recipes (such as butternut squash).
If possible, do try to buy fresh turmeric. It contains more turmeric oil, antioxidants, and nutrients compared to the powdered form. And fresh turmeric can be frozen for up to a couple months without any loss of benefits. Obviously, you want to use it as fast as you can. One way to use it up quickly it to put a ½-inch chunk in your morning smoothies.
Finally, to learn more about the healing powers of turmeric and the best brands of turmeric supplements, I recommend Turmeric for Health (www.turmericforhealth.com) a site dedicated only to the rhizome. Any product they recommend must be certified organic, be a reputable brands, receive outstanding customer reviews, must be safe to use, and easy to find and purchase.
With that in mind, here’s a hot tip: To enhance turmeric’s immune-boosting wallop, ferment it. In five minutes of your time (plus two days to ferment), you can create a base for a month’s supply of tasty and healing fermented turmeric tea.
Best known for its characteristic bright orange-yellow color and as a signature ingredient in curry, turmeric is the small rhizome (root) of a ginger relative. It has a musky aroma and a flavor that is both slightly astringent and bitter. The active ingredient in turmeric, curcumin, quells inflammation, supports digestion, deactivates carcinogens and prevents the release of histamines in the stomach, which counteracts food allergies. Turmeric also has antiseptic, antifungal and antibacterial properties.
Studies show turmeric isn’t always easily absorbed and that people with compromised health aren’t able to fully utilize its active ingredients (curcumin and other curcuminoids). So here’s another reason to ferment it: this process makes it easier to assimilate its medicinal properties. A study published in the International Journal of Food Science and Technology found that the antioxidant power of turmeric increases when it is fermented. Fermentation not only concentrates the curcuminoids but also mitigates its bitter flavor.
You can ferment either fresh or dried turmeric to make a turmeric concentrate that can be stirred into tea. Dried turmeric, which has been cooked and cured, has a milder flavor and aroma than fresh.
Fresh turmeric is pricy, but a little goes a long way. Look for rhizomes that are crisp and evenly colored. They’ll keep at home for several weeks in the refrigerator. When using dried turmeric, purchase organic turmeric from a reputable source, as nonorganic turmeric may be adulterated.
This turmeric tea base recipe is such that you can use either dried or fresh turmeric, or a combination of both.
Fermented Turmeric Tea Base
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh turmeric or 1/3 cup ground turmeric
2 tablespoons raw honey
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 ounce fresh ginger grated (optional)
Directions:
If using fresh turmeric, finely grate it (there’s no need to remove its soft skin). Place the fresh or dried turmeric in a pint jar. Add the honey, lemon juice, lemon zest and ginger, if using, and stir. Note: Initially the honey will not easily mix in, but in an hour or so it readily softens and dissolves on its own. Cover and let rest for a few hours. Stir to blend the ingredients and taste just a little to get a sense of its intense, pre-fermented flavor.
Cover loosely and leave on the counter for 48 hours to ferment. When ready, the flavors will be tangy and bitter; the fresh turmeric tea base will also be lively and sprightly. The consistency of the fresh will be like marmalade and the dried will be like peanut butter. Refrigerated, the base will hold for several months.
To make a tea or a tonic from the fresh turmeric base, place a rounded teaspoon into a tea ball or in a strainer and steep for several minutes. If using the base made from dried turmeric, stir a scant teaspoon into hot water or a tea of your choice and drink. By using hot, rather than boiling water, the living enzymes will remain vital.
Cover loosely and leave on the counter for 48 hours to ferment. When ready, the flavors will be tangy and bitter; the fresh turmeric tea base will also be lively and sprightly. The consistency of the fresh will be like marmalade and the dried will be like peanut butter. Refrigerated, the base will hold for several months.
To make a tea or a tonic from the fresh turmeric base, place a rounded teaspoon into a tea ball or in a strainer and steep for several minutes. If using the base made from dried turmeric, stir a scant teaspoon into hot water or a tea of your choice and drink. By using hot, rather than boiling water, the living enzymes will remain vital.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
This is such a good drink that you’ll find you can enjoy a dollop of the fresh base straight from the jar. The odds are you’ll find a number of ways to use fermented turmeric such as adding it to a salad dressing, smoothies, even certain soup recipes (such as butternut squash).
If possible, do try to buy fresh turmeric. It contains more turmeric oil, antioxidants, and nutrients compared to the powdered form. And fresh turmeric can be frozen for up to a couple months without any loss of benefits. Obviously, you want to use it as fast as you can. One way to use it up quickly it to put a ½-inch chunk in your morning smoothies.
Finally, to learn more about the healing powers of turmeric and the best brands of turmeric supplements, I recommend Turmeric for Health (www.turmericforhealth.com) a site dedicated only to the rhizome. Any product they recommend must be certified organic, be a reputable brands, receive outstanding customer reviews, must be safe to use, and easy to find and purchase.
Sources:
- www.paulickreport.com
- www.gaiaherbs.com
- www.strivefoods.com
- www.allthenourishingthings.com
- www.organicfacts.net
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
