Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)

Rhizome. Fresh turmeric leaves are used in some regions of Indonesia as a flavouring, e.g., in Western Sumatra.

Zingiberaceae (ginger family).

Fresh turmeric rhizome

In fresh state, the rootstock has an aromatic and spicy fragrance, which by drying gives way to a more medicinal aroma. On storing, the smell rather quickly changes to earthy and unpleasant. Similarly, the colour of ground turmeric tends to fade if the spice is stored too long.

Turmeric contains an essential oil (max. 5%), which contains a variety of sesquiterpenes, many of which are specific for the species. Most important for the aroma are turmerone (max. 30%), ar-turmerone (25%) and zingiberene (25%). Conjugated Diarylheptanoids (1,7-diaryl-hepta-1,6-diene-3,5-diones, e.g. curcumin) are responsible for the orange colour and probably also for the pungent taste (3 to 4%).

The Jawanese species C. xanthorrhiza contains 6 to 11% essential oil, which is dominated by 1-cyclo-isoprenemyrcene (up to 85%); it furthermore contains a phenolic sesquiterpene missing from C. longa, xanthorrizol, which makes up max. 20% of the essential oil.

Fresh turmeric rhizome kanchanapisek.or.th       © Thai Junior Encyclopedia

Turmeric flower (close-up) http://members.nbci.com

Because of ancient trade, the origin of turmeric cannot accurately be recon­structed; probably South East Asia or South Asia. A related species, C. xanthorrhiza, grows on Jawa, where it is called temu lawak; in taste, it is equivalent to C. longa.

In many languages, the names of turmeric just mean yellow root: Dutch geelwortel, German Gelbwurz, Arabic uqdah safra [عقدة صفرا], Finnish keltajuuri [keltainen yellow and juuri root] and Modern Greek kitrinoriza [κιτρινόριζα], where kitrinos [κίτρινος] means yellow, probably an allusion to lemon or similar citrus fruits. The same meaning is found in the species name of the Jawanese variety of turmeric, C. xanthorrhiza: Ancient Greek xanthe rhiza [ξανθὴ ῥίζα] yellow root. Other names relate turmeric to related rhizomes, adding an epithet yellow, e.g., Chinese huang jiang [黃薑] and Russian imbir zhyoltyj [имбирь жёлтый] yellow ginger (from zhyoltyj [жёлтый] yellow) and Czech žlutý zázvor yellow zedoary.

English turmeric derives from the (now obsolete) French terre-mérite (Latin terra merita, meritorious earth), probably because ground turmeric resembles mineral pigments (ochre).

The genus name Curcuma likens turmeric to saffron, the most relevant yellow plant dye in the Ancient World. Curcuma is Latinization of Arabic al-kurkum [الكركم], which originally meant saffron but is now used for turmeric only. Compare also the name of saffron in Biblical Hebrew, karkom [כרכם]. In most contemporary European languages, the names of turmeric are derived more or less directly from Latin curcuma. Examples include Finnish, Serbo-Croatian, Russian and Dutch kurkuma [куркума], French and Italian curcuma, Spanish cúrcuma and Romanian curcumă. Scandinavian names show stronger variation, e.g., Danish gurkemeje, Norwegian gurkemeie and Swedish gurkmeja.

Ornamental turmeric flowers (C. alismatifolia)

Turmeric flower kanchanapisek.or.th       © Thai Junior Encyclopedia

The similarity to saffron is reflected by names like Indian saffron in several European tongues: German indischer Safran, Croatian indijski šafran, French safran des Indes or Turkish hint safranı. Compare also Spanish azafrán arabe Arabic saffron. On the other side, saffron is named nghe tay [nghệ tây] Western turmeric in Vietnam, where turmeric is native and saffron just an exotic oddity.

The toponym India has a long history. It is derived from Sanskrit sindhu [सिंधु] river, which was particularly used for the Indus River in North-Western India. There is the speculation that the Sanskrit term itself is a loan from Dravidian languages and corresponds to the Dravidian root CĪNT date palm tree (Modern Tamil intu [ஈந்து]). Was the Indus River, then, originally the river where the palm trees grow?

The Greeks took their designation for the country from the Persian form of the same name, hindush, and named it Indike chora [Ἰνδικὴ χώρα] Indian land (properly land around the Indus river) and later simply India [Ἰνδία]; that name became common in the Hellenistc era and spread, via Latin India, to almost all Western European languages. Western and Central Asian names mostly come dirctly from the Persian, e.g., Kazakh ündi [үнді], Arabic al-hind [الهند] and of course Farsi hindustan [هندوستان] India; also Farsi hendi [هندی] and Turkish Hint Indian.

The suffix -stan, found in Hindustan and many modern country names, is also of Persian origin and related to Sanskrit sthana [स्थान] home, place of abiding.

Because of the strong association between India and spices in Europe, many spices contain an India-Element in their names. Examples are, besides Indian saffron for turmeric, designations like Indian nut (coconut, nutmeg), Indian date (tamarind), Indian anise (star anise), Indian parsley (coriander) and many more. In Indian cress (nasturtium), however, the epithet points not to India but to Latin America.

Indian Spices: Turmeric (indianetzone.com) Indian Spices: Wild Ginger (indianetzone.com) Ilkas und Ullis Kochecke: Kurkuma Plant Cultures: Turmeric A Pinch of Turmeric (www.apinchof.com) The Epicentre: Turmeric Chinese Herb Database: Turmeric Sorting Curcuma names (www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au) Medical Spice Exhibit: Turmeric Rain Tree: Turmeric Product Information Turmeric (spizes.com)