Ingredient Spotlight: Turmeric
… plus a recipe for Fresh Turmeric and Lemon Curd and plenty of other ideas for delicious cakes and brilliant desserts featuring Turmeric
“… it goes into everything … Its role has nothing to do with colour (apart from giving your fingers an edgy forty-fags-a-day look) and has everything to do with flavour.” Nisha Katona “The Spice Tree”
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Today I want to talk about Turmeric, an ingredient that many of you are probably familiar with from cooking Indian food but that you might so far have overlooked when it comes to baking and desserts. And I would love to change that! So in the first installment of what will hopefully become a regular feature in this newsletter, today’s Ingredient Spotlight will be on the humble Turmeric. First things first:
What is it? Also known as Indian or false saffron (due to its intense yellow colour), Turmeric (Curcuma longa) forms part of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae) and is native to the Indian subcontinent. Turmeric can be consumed fresh or dried and ground into an intensely yellow fine powder. Turmeric is used both for its colour as well as its earthy flavour. It has also long been used in Ayurvedic medicine for its alleged anti-inflammatory properties - most famously in Haldi doodh (also known as ‘golden milk’) - a warm drink made with milk, Turmeric, black pepper and a sweetener of your choice.
What does it taste like? There is no masking it, dried Turmeric in particular has an intense woody, earthy, floral and bitter (verging on acrid) flavour. But as Niki Segnit writes in “Flavour Thesaurus, More Flavours” Turmeric’s flavour is also “part ginger, part bay, with a fresh woodiness that might remind you of carrot” and that “these notes lend the spice to savoury uses, but … haldi doodh …shows how well it works in sweet contexts”. In any event there is a considerable difference in terms of flavour between fresh and dried Turmeric: “call to mind the difference between fresh ginger and dried ground ginger, and you’ll understand that fresh turmeric has a vibrancy - a zingy eucalyptus note, for instance - that gets lost in the dried ground form” (Niki Segnit, “The Flavour Thesaurus, More Flavours”). It is this difference in flavour that also means you get slightly different flavour pairings depending on whether you are cooking (or baking!) with fresh or dried Turmeric.
What does it go well with? In “The Science of Spice”, Dr Stuart Farramond (an excellent resource if you want to approach the use of different spices, how to best extract their flavour and flavour pairings in a more scientific way) suggests the following pairings based on Turmeric’s flavour compounds and which would all work well in sweet applications: black cardamom, anise / star anise, nutmeg, cardamom, coriander, ginger and white chocolate. Nikki Segnit adds coconut and coffee to that list. Personally, I am partial to anise seed - a pairing I first discovered when trying Lebanese Sfouf Cake. When it comes to fresh Turmeric, I would also add lemon, lime or tamarind to the list - in short, anything acidic (even green apple!). If, like me, you are a fan of these overpriced little Turmeric shots you will already know that lemon or lime juice have the power to transform Turmeric into something reminiscent of passion fruit in flavour.
How can I use it?
The above flavour pairing ideas are obviously a good starting point if you want to experiment a little bit. But if you want some pointers, I share some recipe ideas below, including a recipe of mine for a Fresh Turmeric and Lemon Curd that was published in Elle Belgium a few years back.
While Spring is certainly springing around these parts and many of Brussels’ streets are slowly turning pink thanks to the many Magnolia and ornamental Japanese cherry trees dotted around town, the next time you feel a little itch in your nose or a scratch in your throat, why not make yourself a mug of Haldi doodh. Niki Segnit suggests using 2-3 crushed black peppercorns, ½ tsp ground turmeric and 1 tbsp sweetener for each mug of hot milk.
If you are looking for a breakfast idea, then I can highly recommend Jessica Koslow’s (of Sqirl LA fame) ‘Nola with both Turmeric and Cardamom (recipe here via Tim Mazurek of Lottie and Doof). On the scale of granola to kettle corn, this ‘nola definitely sits closer to the kettle corn end of the spectrum. But this just means it’s as good eaten with some fat Greek yoghurt (it was a hit during the Brunch edition of the Supperclubs I used to host with my friend Kaja) and berries as it is munched by the fistful by watching your favourite movie. Bonus point: if you eat it like cereal in a bowl with some milk the ‘nola will turn your milk a gorgeous shade of yellow. I also saw someone mention Turmeric Milk Jam which sounds like a delicious thing to drizzle over dark chocolate ice cream or maybe a sticky chocolate loaf cake with some whipped coconut cream.
When it comes to cake, Lebanese Sfouf cake (named after the diamond pattern its typically sliced into after baking) is where it’s at (see here for a recipe, otherwise Eleanor Ford has also included a recipe in her new book “A Whisper of Cardamom”). Even before you get to the addition of Turmeric, it is a genius recipe. Made from simple pantry ingredients (plus milk), this egg-free sponge is beautifully soft and bouncy and the perfect accompaniment to some fresh mint tea or a coffee. The turmeric and anise seed lend the cake an earthy sweetness. Delicious on its own, it also works well with a side of whipped cream (or Greek yoghurt) and some fruit compote.
When it comes to desserts featuring Turmeric, I just bookmarked Tara O’Brady’s recipe for Turmeric Pots de Creme (see here) which combines Turmeric with fresh ginger, cardamom, vanilla and white chocolate and which sounds worth trying. And Bon Appetit a while back shared a recipe for a Coconut Turmeric Pie (see here) which also looks and sounds intriguing.
I also love playing around with fresh turmeric which thankfully most supermarkets and health food stores now stock year round. Whenever I am feeling a bit rundown I like making Turmeric Tonic - I like to think I do so because of Turmeric’s alleged antimicrobial properties, but if I am really honest, I just really like the taste. To make this, bring 500ml water to a boil. Turn off the heat, add 2 tbsp each of grated fresh Turmeric and grated fresh ginger, cover and set aside to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain, discarding the turmeric and ginger, and add 2 tbsp or more of your sweetener of choice (honey, agave, sugar). To turn this into turmeric lemonade, use 1 part tonic to 3-4 parts sparkling water and add the juice of ½ lemon per person. Finish off with some ice. I’m also working on a recipe for a fresh Turmeric and Lime Drizzle loaf cake which takes all of the delicious flavours of Turmeric Tonic or these overpriced tiny Turmeric shots and turns these into a beautifully moist and zingy cake.
In her book, Niki Segnit also mentions that Thai food expert David gives a delicious sounding recipe for bananas in a syrup made with coconut cream, fresh turmeric, palm sugar, coconut sugar, pandan leaves. Grilled, flattened bananas are slipped into the syrup and served with sticky coconut rice (see here). And then of course, you could also make Fresh Turmeric and Lemon Curd (see below). And you could even use the Turmeric curd to make some Turmeric bars. I suspect a concentrated fresh Turmeric, fresh ginger and fresh lime juice sweetened syrup would also be amazing drizzled over ice cream or panna cotta or as the basis for a Turmeric yoghurt mousse as a light dessert option on hotter days.
Have you baked with Turmeric before or made any desserts with Turmeric? I would love to hear about it in the comments!
Fresh Turmeric and Lemon Curd
Notes: Making this turmeric and lemon curd is no more difficult than making lemon curd, you simply add a generous portion of freshly grated turmeric to your curd base. And what I love so much about making curds is that they are super easy to make and are such a delicious thing to have on hand – be it as an additional spread option for your breakfast table, to enjoy in large dollops on some thick Greek yoghurt, layered into ice cream, as a filling for tart shells, you name it. And this one is even more delicious than traditional lemon curd.
Makes one small jar
Ingredients
2 eggs, lightly whisked
100g sugar
Juice and zest of two lemons
3 pinky sized pieces of turmeric, finely grated
50g butter
Directions
Suspend a mixing bowl over a pot of simmering water. Add all ingredients to the bowl and whisk all ingredients until the butter has melted.
Once the butter has melted, continue stirring the curd for ca. 8-10 minutes or until the curd has thickened to a custard-like consistency. Strain into a clean jar. Store in the fridge.