You’ll probably have noticed that I absolutely love using turmeric in my recipes – with its potent list of health benefits and gorgeous color, why wouldn’t I? In fact, since starting to take my daily Turmeric and Ginger Immune-Boosting Energy Shots (juicer recipe), I now use turmeric every single day, and learning how to make turmeric powder at home is a great way to make sure I always have some on hand. I’ve gone into detail about the many health benefits of turmeric in previous posts including the one for this dairy-free turmeric Golden Milk, so I won’t spend too much time on that here. What I will say, however, is that turmeric has a number of benefits that work to improve the immune system and heart health, has anti-cancerous properties, and reduces inflammation, too!
Why Make Homemade Turmeric Powder?
Whether you just like DIYs and making things at home, or you just don’t have a reliable local source of fresh turmeric, making this homemade turmeric power is a great way to have a constant supply – so you never have to miss out on your daily shot (or for any other recipes). In fact, once made, this powder can be stored for up to a year to use so the shelf life beats fresh turmeric by miles. Plus, I love knowing the exact conditions that this ingredient was made in and its origin – which is something you won’t get with store-bought varieties. Not to mention that the color is far more vibrant, and the taste far superior to any store-bought variety I’ve ever owned.
The majority of the health benefits associated with turmeric powder are due to the ‘curcumin’ inside the root. However, the raw curcumin isn’t easily absorbed into our body and needs to be mixed with other ingredients to improve its bioavailability. My personal favorite combination is turmeric and black pepper as it often doesn’t affect the taste of your dish but there is tons of research out there to prove its positive effect. However, I’ve also read that combining turmeric with healthy fats such as olive oil or coconut oil can also increase the bioavailability, too. It’s also worth noting how heat can affect the powder – with a little (under 15 minutes) actually improving its absorption levels but too much, for a prolonged period of time can actually have a negative impact on its benefits.
How To Make Turmeric Powder
Within this post, I’m discussing how to make homemade turmeric powder with multiple methods. These include oven-drying, with a dehydrator, or even air-drying (if you’re very patient). All of the methods have their own pro’s and cons, for example: Oven Drying: This takes the least amount of time but also adds the highest heat to the process. Dehydrator: This method obviously requires you to have a dehydrator, which many don’t. However, it’s a lower heat and only takes a couple of extra hours than the oven method. Air-drying: This method requires a lot of patience and good weather. This is best done in a warm, well-ventilated area protected from flies. This method can take up to 14 days though to fully dry (or longer depending on the heat/weather).
The Methods
Needed:
Fresh Turmeric root/rhizomes – use as much as you want. I used about 400 grams of turmeric root (unpeeled) and it yielded about 50 grams of dry powder (over two months of daily turmeric shots or more for cooking purposes) Steps: Start by cleaning and peeling the turmeric root.
Note: I recommend wearing gloves as turmeric will stain your hands. You can also place an old towel or a baking sheet to work on, to protect your surfaces.
After you’ve peeled the turmeric roots, cut them into thin equal slices or use a vegetable peeler and “peel” the slices. The thinner the piece, the quicker the drying process. Note* The peels don’t taste of much and can be added to smoothies or grated and added into cooking for extra fiber and nutrients.
Arrange the slices on a baking tray lined with baking paper. The pieces can touch but make sure they don’t overlap. I’ve arranged them on a dehydrator tray to use in a dehydrator.
Bake in the oven at 100ºC for about 2 hours. Check on the dryness in about 1.5 hours – depending on the thickness and water content, as well as your oven, the turmeric might need less or more time. I used a dehydrator and dehydrated the turmeric at 40ºC for about 4-5 hours.
You could also dry them in a well-ventilated spot but this could take up to 14 days depending on where you live and the humidity of your area and in your house. The turmeric is ready when it’s crunchy dry. The dried slices will also have shrunk in size. To check if they are completely dry, you can snap a piece in half. If it’s bendy rather than a clean snap, then it’s not ready yet.
Once you are done baking/dehydrating the turmeric, add the slices to a food processor or a grinder and grind them to a fine powder.
Note: it’s possible that the turmeric might stain your food processor. Sift the powder through a sieve to collect bigger chunks, which will need to be ground again.
Store in an air-tight glass container in a dark, dry place. The properly dried powdered turmeric can be stored and used for a year.
Turmeric Powder Recipes You Might Like
Turmeric powder is a spice that can easily be added to a variety of dishes, from curries and soups to sweet dishes and drinks. It is commonly used to make a healthy turmeric ‘tea’ too. However, here are a few of my favorite uses. I already mentioned this Ginger Turmeric Immune-Boosting Energy Shots (juicer recipe), that I’m obsessed with. While I use fresh turmeric for this juice, you can sub this for 1/2 tsp of powder per turmeric shot for a wonderful turmeric powder shot recipe. You may also like these Golden Turmeric Energy Balls (No-bake). If you have any questions, leave a comment below Also, I love seeing your recreations so feel free to tag me on Instagram @AlphaFoodie.
