Fermented Turmeric

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Fermented Turmeric

Postby gladston on Wed Jan 27, 2016 2:34 pm

Hello All!

I am looking to ferment some turmeric and looking for some assistance on what the best way to go about it. I've read some posts on fermenting it wildly (with just sugar, water, and turmeric), fermenting it with water kefir grains, fermenting it with kombucha cultures, etc. Does anyone have a method that has worked well for them in particular? I am thinking of kick starting the process off with kefir grains, and then using the fermented batch as starter going forward.

Further... I am looking for some advice on ingredients. Other than turmeric, should I ferment with black peppercorn? I hear that black peppercorn is highly valuable when consuming turmeric. I have also heard of people using lemon or lime juice? Does this pose any benefits?

Lastly, is it necessary to ferment with an open/covered top, or can the vessel be air tight and closed? Does it matter either way?

Any recipe ideas, or kick starting ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Brad
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Re: Fermented Turmeric

Postby Tibor on Wed Jan 27, 2016 3:05 pm

I have known for a long time the benefits of turmeric and I've been wanting to add turmeric to kraut or other ferments for awhile. Recently my neighbor bought a jar of turmeric sauerkraut that was good but didn't seem to have a lot of turmeric in it. I'm going to start a small batch with a lot in it and see what comes out. I make my kraut in open vessels. You mentioning water kefir grains gives me the idea to try that too. That one seems easy to add a lot of turmeric and maybe add a bit of apple and lemon juice for flavor. I'll ferment sugar water with kefir grains for a couple of days(in a 2 L snap lock jar 3/4 full), remove the grains and add my stuff for a couple of days and then carbonate in 1L bottles for a day or so. Thanks for the idea. We'll see what happens and I'll report back.
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Re: Fermented Turmeric

Postby godutch on Wed Jan 27, 2016 3:37 pm

Turmeric is related to ginger, so maybe you could try a ginger bug but why don't you eat it the way is suppsed to be eaten: in a curry? My favorites are Sharwood's hot curry powder (I prefer the powder) and Nandan's hindostani massala. I use them for everything, salad meat seasoning, with yoghurt
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Re: Fermented Turmeric

Postby gladston on Thu Jan 28, 2016 3:00 pm

Tibor wrote:I have known for a long time the benefits of turmeric and I've been wanting to add turmeric to kraut or other ferments for awhile. Recently my neighbor bought a jar of turmeric sauerkraut that was good but didn't seem to have a lot of turmeric in it. I'm going to start a small batch with a lot in it and see what comes out. I make my kraut in open vessels. You mentioning water kefir grains gives me the idea to try that too. That one seems easy to add a lot of turmeric and maybe add a bit of apple and lemon juice for flavor. I'll ferment sugar water with kefir grains for a couple of days(in a 2 L snap lock jar 3/4 full), remove the grains and add my stuff for a couple of days and then carbonate in 1L bottles for a day or so. Thanks for the idea. We'll see what happens and I'll report back.


Thanks for the response Tibor! Can't wait to hear how yours comes out, as I will be trying my experiment with turmeric in the coming week. Good luck on your exciting experiment!
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Re: Fermented Turmeric

Postby gladston on Thu Jan 28, 2016 3:04 pm

godutch wrote:Turmeric is related to ginger, so maybe you could try a ginger bug but why don't you eat it the way is suppsed to be eaten: in a curry? My favorites are Sharwood's hot curry powder (I prefer the powder) and Nandan's hindostani massala. I use them for everything, salad meat seasoning, with yoghurt


Thanks for the response goducth! I personally am not a fan of indian styled spices, but am looking to obtain the benefits from consuming turmeric. In my online searches, I have come across notations that the curcumin in turmeric is not as bio-available in simply powdered or root form. To better obtain these benefits, the root should be fermented. So, for those two reasons, I won't be eating it the "traditional" way. Barring the aforementioned reasons, I would have no reservations consuming it the traditional way.

Thanks!
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Re: Fermented Turmeric

Postby khoomeizhi on Thu Feb 04, 2016 5:56 am

my experience with fresh turmeric root is that it's just as loaded with wild yeasts as fresh ginger is - i've used it in starting bugs side by side with ginger and alone and the effect is similar. you can certainly start with kefir water grains but i doubt it's necessary. turmeric/water/sugar or honey should do the trick.
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Re: Fermented Turmeric

Postby Tibor on Fri Feb 05, 2016 12:36 pm

That's exactly what I chose to do last week after reading about it in Sandor's books. Instead of water kefir, I easily made a turmeric bug and now have turmeric beer fermenting in bottles. I also started a small batch of turmeric kraut.
Now that I discovered fresh turmeric-as opposed to powder- and explored some foodie sites and read comments and recipes I'm going to play around with this very medicinal and beneficial root.
First off, I've been making wonderful tea simmering ginger, turmeric and lemon for a half hour. Add a little honey and wow.
I just love learning new stuff !
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Re: Fermented Turmeric

Postby gladston on Sun Feb 07, 2016 9:51 pm

Tibor wrote:That's exactly what I chose to do last week after reading about it in Sandor's books. Instead of water kefir, I easily made a turmeric bug and now have turmeric beer fermenting in bottles. I also started a small batch of turmeric kraut.
Now that I discovered fresh turmeric-as opposed to powder- and explored some foodie sites and read comments and recipes I'm going to play around with this very medicinal and beneficial root.
First off, I've been making wonderful tea simmering ginger, turmeric and lemon for a half hour. Add a little honey and wow.
I just love learning new stuff !


Thanks for the update! The tea recipe sounds fantastic! As an update to you, I had started a batch of water kefir with a light mate base... with a titch of molasses and of course some cane sugar. I let that ferment until my organic turmeric powder from Mountain Rose Herbs arrived. Once it arrived, I dropped some more sugar into the water kefir solution (after removing the grains) as well as 5-6 tablespoons of tumeric powder. It has been just about a week now and OMG... I wish I could attach a video because the fermentation activity is out of this world. I have not tasted it as yet, but I can tell it's going to be intense. I think it is safe to say my fermented turmeric experiment was a big success. Going forward, I will just use a bit of a prior batch to jump start the new batch. Thanks for all the suggestions and the update!
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Re: Fermented Turmeric

Postby Tibor on Sat Feb 27, 2016 10:28 pm

update. My Turmeric kraut turned out excellent ! It's beautiful too. deep yellow speckled with the red/orange of the carrot.2 and a half # of cabbage, a big onion ,lots of grated carrot and a bunch of garlic and fresh turmeric( 2 1/2 oz. grated) and did a 2 week ferment.
I'm very pleased .
I am also thrilled how the turmeric brew came out. Such a fruity aroma and taste. I made a turmeric bug(1 week) and added some of that to a strong turmeric and ginger tea with 1/2 cup of sugar. I put it all in a couple of 3/4 L snap lock bottles and left it on the counter for 2 weeks to carbonate and ferment. Amazing. I basically followed Sandor's recipe for Ginger bug and brew.
And now turmeric ginger tea is a staple here. Grate some ,simmer 30 minutes, a little lemon and honey. Delicious. I have designated one pot for brewing Turmeric tea since it stains easily-very easily. I drink it in my mugs that have a dark glaze on the inside. All well worth it.
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