When was turmeric discovered

India remains the largest producer of turmeric in the entire world. Records of turmeric use go back more than 4, years. There have even been analyses of pots dating back to BCE that found turmeric residue. The fumes of burning turmeric were used to clear up congestion, while turmeric juice was used to heal wounds and bruises, and turmeric paste was said to be beneficial for a variety of skin conditions, including smallpox, blemishes, and shingles.

It should not be any surprise that turmeric, as a part of curry powder, found its way to the West as a result of colonization of India by the British military, as well as through trading via the British East India Trading Company. The first mentions of kari could be found in a Portuguese cookbook from the mid th century, based on descriptions by members of the British East India Trading Company who did business with Tamil merchants along the southeastern coast of India.

A later edition, printed , included a recipe for a curry dish. It should also come as no surprise that right around the same time as British traders and soldiers were discovering curry, enterprising Indian merchants figured out how to make up a powdered mixture of the spices used in the dish and sold it as curry powder for them to take back home.

Around this time, commercial curry powders became available. Enjoy in good health! British Library Board, n. Prance, Ghillean T. The Cultural History of Plants. New York. Ravindran, P. Nirmal Babu, and K.

Turmeric: The Genus Curcuma. Saberi, Helen, and Colleen Taylor Sen. Chicago: Agate Digital, Tori Avey is a food writer, recipe developer, and the creator of ToriAvey. What is the History of Turmeric? They are divided into leaf sheath, petiole, and leaf blade. From the leaf sheaths, a false stem is formed.

The rhizomes are the most widely used part of the plant as cooking ingredient, medicine and color dye though the leaves and the stems are used for many purposes mainly cooking. The most important chemical components of turmeric are a group of compounds called curcuminoids, which include curcumin diferuloylmethane , demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin.

The best-studied compound is curcumin, which is a main ingredient in powdered turmeric. Turmeric also has many important volatile oils include turmerone, atlantone, and zingiberene. Oil and oleo resins extracted from Turmeric are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry.

Turmeric has nearly 40 different genres and species. The most common varieties of Turmeric are Curcumin longa, Curcuma aromatica, curcuma amada, curcuma algustifolia, curcucuma zidoria. The oleoresin extracted from Turmeric is widely used in cooking to give attractive colors to the dishes.