General Information
Turmeric is the rhizome, or root stem, of a tropical blade-leafed plant. The rhizome has an abstract finger-like shape with a rough skin marked with knobs and rings. Turmeric rhizomes often grow up to 3-4 inches long and one-half to one inch in diameter. Its skin’s color is a combination of pale earth and orange. The flesh is a vibrant carrot orange color and its flavor warm and peppery with very distinct bitter undertones. It is most often boiled and then dried for powdered form, in which it turns its trademark color.
History
Turmeric is cultivated and doesn’t exist in the wild. It is believed to be a cross between wild turmeric and another closely related species. Turmeric is propagated by breaking off pieces of the rhizome and replanting to create a whole new plant. It is indigenous to tropical South Asia, specifically Indonesia and southern India, where it has been cultivated for 5000 years. It was first introduced to the tropical western hemisphere to Jamaica in the 18th Century. It has also been naturalized in Hawaii where it has become a commercial crop.
