Turmeric is a flowering plant, Curcuma longa, of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between 20 and 30 °C (68 and 86 °F) and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive.

In this post, Pritish Kumar Halder explained about Turmeric, a very useful ingredient in the kitchen. Also, about its origin, distribution and uses 

Plants are gathered each year for their rhizomes, some for propagation in the following season and some for consumption. The rhizomes are used fresh or boiled in water and dried, after which they are ground into a deep orange-yellow powder commonly used as a colouring and flavouring agent in many Asian cuisines, especially for curries, as well as for dyeing, characteristics imparted by the principal turmeric constituent, curcumin.

Turmeric powder has a warm, bitter, black pepper-like flavour and earthy, mustard-like aroma.

Curcumin, a bright yellow chemical produced by the turmeric plant, is approved as a food additive by the World Health Organization, European Parliament, and United States Food and Drug Administration.

Although long used in Ayurvedic medicine, where it is also known as haridra, there is no high-quality clinical evidence that consuming turmeric or curcumin is effective for treating any disease.

Origin and distribution

The greatest diversity of Curcuma species by number alone is in India, at around 40 to 45 species. Thailand has a comparable 30 to 40 species. Other countries in tropical Asia also have numerous wild species of Curcuma. Recent studies have also shown that the taxonomy of Curcuma longa is problematic, with only the specimens from South India being identifiable as C. longa.

Phylogeny, relationships, intraspecific and interspecific variation, and even identity of other species and cultivars in other parts of the world still need to be established and validated. Various species currently utilized and sold as “turmeric” in other parts of Asia have been shown to belong to several physically similar taxa, with overlapping local names.

Appearance

Turmeric is a perennial herbaceous plant that reaches up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall. It has highly branched, yellow to orange, cylindrical, aromatic rhizomes.

The leaves are alternate and arranged in two rows. They are divided into leaf sheath, petiole, and leaf blade. From the leaf sheaths, a false stem is formed. The petiole is 50 to 115 cm (20–45 in) long. The simple leaf blades are usually 76 to 115 cm (30–45 in) long and rarely up to 230 cm (7 ft 7 in). They have a width of 38 to 45 cm (15 to 17+1⁄2 in) and are oblong to elliptical, narrowing at the tip.

Inflorescence, flower, and fruit

At the top of the inflorescence, stem bracts are present on which no flowers occur; these are white to green and sometimes tinged reddish-purple, and the upper ends are tapered.

The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and threefold. Three sepals are 0.8 to 1.2 cm (3⁄8 to 1⁄2 in) long, fused, and white, and have fluffy hairs; the three calyx teeth are unequal. The three bright-yellow petals are fused into a corolla tube up to 3 cm (1+1⁄4 in) long. three corolla lobes have a length of 1.0 to 1.5 cm (3⁄8–5⁄8 in) and are triangular with soft-spiny upper ends.

While the average corolla lobe is larger than the two lateral, only the median stamen of the inner circle is fertile. The dust bag is spurred at its base. All other stamens are converted to staminodes. The outer staminodes are shorter than the labellum. The labellum is yellowish, with a yellow ribbon in its center and it is obovate, with a length from 1.2 to 2.0 cm (1⁄2 to 3⁄4 in). Three carpels are under a constant, trilobed ovary adherent, which is sparsely hairy. The fruit capsule opens with three compartments.

In East Asia, the flowering time is usually in August. Terminally on the false stem is an inflorescence stem, 12 to 20 cm (4+1⁄2 to 8 in) long, containing many flowers. The bracts are light green and ovate to oblong with a blunt upper end with a length of 3 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in).

Uses

Culinary

Turmeric is one of the key ingredients in many Asian dishes, imparting a mustard-like, earthy aroma and pungent, slightly bitter flavor to foods. It is used mostly in savory dishes, but also is used in some sweet dishes, such as the cake sfouf. In India, turmeric leaf is used to prepare special sweet dishes, patoleo, by layering rice flour and coconut-jaggery mixture on the leaf, then closing and steaming it in a special utensil (chondrõ). Most turmeric is used in the form of rhizome powder to impart a golden yellow color. It is used in many products such as canned beverages, baked products, dairy products, ice cream, yogurt, yellow cakes, orange juice, biscuits, popcorn color, cereals, sauces, and gelatin.

Dye

The golden yellow color of turmeric is due to curcumin. It also contains an orange-colored volatile oil. Turmeric makes a poor fabric dye, as it is not light fast, but is commonly used in Indian clothing, such as saris and Buddhist monks’ robes. During the late Edo period (1603-1867), turmeric was used to dilute or substitute more expensive safflower dyestuff in the production of beni itajime shibori.

Turmeric is approved for use as a food color, The oleoresin is used for oil-containing products.

Indicator

Turmeric paper, also called curcuma paper or in German literature, Curcumapapier, is paper steeped in a tincture of turmeric and allowed to dry. It is used in chemical analysis as an indicator for acidity and alkalinity. The paper is yellow in acidic and neutral solutions and turns brown to reddish-brown in alkaline solutions, with transition between pH of 7.4 and 9.2.

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turmeric