Spice Hunting: Turmeric

For most of my spice hunting life, I avoided turmeric. Denounced it, even.

Sure, I tried it. I got yellower food, smoker's fingers, and stains on my countertops that will never come out. Taste didn't much enter into the equation. But my mind can be changed. When it comes to food, I'm ready to admit I'm wrong if it means a good meal in the end. So in service of this column and oft-misunderstood turmeric, I sought a version of the spice that could change my ways.

It didn't take me long to learn that good turmeric is out there. Great turmeric. Turmeric that, after a whiff, grabs your collar and won't let go. Done right, it's an ingredient that can change the way you cook ethnic food. The aroma is intense: earthy, pungent, redolent of dried citrus peel and dusty streets soaked in sunlight. The flavor, though subtler, warms the tongue, the missing link between black pepper and chile. After tasting the real deal, one automatically understands why the food of over a billion people is stained with it.

And the rule for using it couldn't be simpler: Get it fresh, get it whole, or at least get it freshly ground.

新鲜和干

Turmeric, like ginger, is a rhizome, a fibrous self-propagating root. Really good Indian markets will sell it fresh, in two- to three-inch long fingers. It can be treated just like ginger: Once peeled, you can cut it into matchsticks, mince it, or grate it on a Microplane. Wrapped in plastic and stored in the refrigerator, fresh turmeric will keep about a week. It can be frozen for longer, but the flavor and aroma suffer.

My compromise is whole dried fingers, pictured above.When ground with a fine grater, they produce a flavor and perfume almost as good as fresh.Dried fingers are easier to find both in Indian markets and online. They are much friendlier to those of us without immediate access to ethnic markets, as they keep for years. Yes, grinding dried turmeric yourself is a time-consuming process, but it stinks the kitchen up beautifully, a lusty notice to all at home that a great meal is on its way. In slow-cooked dishes, you can just hack the turmeric into small pieces with a heavy cleaver and pop them in a pot with your other ingredients.

如果你可以使用这两个选项,seek out specialty spice merchants. Demand to know, with all the entitlement you can muster, if their turmeric is freshly ground. If so, purchase in small amounts and use quickly. If not, bypass it with a sigh and know that your dish will taste just as good, even if it doesn't have a bright yellow hue.

How to Use Turmeric