Today, I'm in the market gathering the Holy Trinity of spices used in Asian cooking; turmeric, ginger, and garlic.
Let's talk about turmeric for a minute. Turmeric might seem like that mystery spice, but chances are you've grown up eating it in the form of mustard. That bright yellow pigment and a lot of the flavor of mustard actually comes from blending this herb in to ground mustard seeds. Like its cousin ginger, turmeric concentrates a set of phytochemicals that have been used for millennia in both Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine to treat heart disease, liver disease, menstrual cramps, and arthritis.
Now a growing body of research is confirming that curcumin and the other phtyochemicals in turmeric have powerful anti-inflammatory and cancer fighting properties. Turmeric also helps the liver detoxify a range of chemicals. But don't wait for the human clinical trials, double blind placebo controlled crossover studies to confirm its effectiveness as a drug. You can join the billions of people who use turmeric in their kitchen everyday. It adds that classic flavor to Indian and Asian curries. I'm going to take it home right now and make cauliflower rice. Hope you'll enjoy it!