Guest Author - Linda Heywood Turmeric is closely related to
ginger and has a similar knobbly rhizome. Underneath the rind
its flesh is bright orange. The turmeric plant has large broad
leaves and yellow flower spikes. It is a tropical plant native
to China, India, Java and Peru. Turmeric can be grown by placing
a rhizome in a pot filled with grit and compost. Matured
turmeric rhizomes are boiled, peeled, dried and ground into
powder to produce the pungent yellow spice that warms and
colours food to a rich gold. Its main culinary use is in curry
but it is used in mustard and pickle. Turmeric keeps its
colouring properties for a very long time but it soon loses its
flavour so only buy small quantities at a time Turmeric was
probably first used as a dye. The turmeric rhizomes produce a
strong yellow dye when made up as a mordant with chrome.
Combining turmeric and chrome forms a stable insoluble compound
which fixes the dye on textiles or leather. The active
ingredient in turmeric is curcumin which is a powerful