Sunday, 26 August 2007

FREAKY FACTS... Root of many names, uses

1) Turmeric is used as a food covering and is listed as the additive E100 or as curcumin.
2) This multi-healing spice has many names. Turmeric (spelt tumeric on a Gregg’s packet) is also known as Indian saffron, haldee and yellow ginger; in France, Spain and Italy it’s called curcuma; and in Thailand its given name is kamin.
3) Yellow turmeric paper can be used to test for alkalinity, which turns brown. 4) When the turmeric roots or “rhizomes” are dug up, they are popped into boiling water for an hour. This is to stop the root sprouting, help with the drying process and evenly distribute the colour through the rhizome.
5) Once turmeric has been boiled and dried, it becomes rock hard through the gelatinisation of starches. This means the spice is almost impossible to grind domestically.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good post.