Turmeric Harvest

Back in August when we replanted the turmeric into this larger 18 gallon container we expected to wait until the leaves died back for the winter to harvest. They didn't make it that far. A couple of weeks ago we noticed a couple of the leaves had been nibbled by deer. Nothing major, just a little sampling. This past week we came back and every leaf had been eaten back to the stalk. Every. Single. Leaf. Apparently, the deer had cautiously tasted our unfamiliar turmeric leaves... and liked them.

We figured since the weather was changing and everyone was fighting off colds, the heavy deer browse was a decent enough sign to go ahead and harvest the turmeric. Luckily we weren't in it for the leaves, we wanted the rhizomes, shown on the edge of the sink in the picture above. Each rhizome could be replanted to multiply next year. In fact, everything shown here started out as one rhizome about the size of a golf ball this past Spring. But rather than planting, we used the majority of the rhizomes for tea.

Meredithe separated the rhizomes from the rest of the stems and roots. She then grated them into this big pot, added water and brought it to a boil. The resulting tea is rich with turmeric's best known chemical compound, curcumin. Turmeric derived curcumin is often used in curries and mustards, its rich color has been used in dyes and cosmetics (Be prepared for it to stain your skin during processing). It's warm, bitter taste is delicious, which would be enough to make the process worthwhile, but we wanted it for its medicinal properties.

Curcumin has anti inflammatory properties, making it medicinally useful for all sorts of ailments. We kept the tea in the refrigerator for a week or so, drinking it by the glass cold, or  hot or mixed with apple cider vinegar like a shot of cold fighting medicine. We like to add honey to the tea to sweeten it, or chase the tea/vinegar combo shot with a spoonful of honey. We find it very effective at reducing cold and flu symptoms, without the drug induced haze from the pharmacy.