Thursday, July 25, 2013

Fermented Turmeric Tea



I love Turmeric.  Not only because the color is like liquid sunshine, but because of all great health benefits such as prevention of certain types of cancers and inflammation diseases.  My girlfriend will only drink it once in a while, and reluctantly at that, because she wants to keep her teeth white- liquid sunshine can stain white teeth.  She's a good sport, sampling many concoctions that I make. I drink it when I remember, and I don't think it really stains my teeth.  Those that work with turmeric know that it's yellowing potential is huge when working with it, but it will quickly fade over the next day.

Fermented turmeric tea aka fermented ukon is a common drink in Okinawa. Why ferment Turmeric? Because the Okinawans do, and they live for a long, long time. But really,  it makes a milder tasting turmeric.  I've tested this my self.  A Japanese friend of mine was kind enough to fulfill my request for Japanese fermented turmeric tea when she visited recently.  The tea comes in a granular form, in a paper tea bag.  Directions say to boil the tea for 4-5 minutes then drink.  The writing on the box says that fermentation reduces the bitterness of turmeric.  Swanson claims that fermenting turmeric also ensures high concentration of curcuminoids, the property of turmeric believed to be so beneficial. Can you send me your studies that confirm that, Swanson?  

It was nice to try the Japanese brand tea, but since we have so much fresh turmeric in Hawaii, I wanted to make my own fermented version at home.
Fermented turmeric tea


I've made my own fermented turmeric following this process. 

1. Ferment slices of fresh turmeric in a sugar water using a lactic acid bacteria starter culture.
2. Slice .5 lb fresh turmeric.
3. Add to quart size mason Jar with 3 cups purified water and about .5 cup sugar
4.  Add starter lactic acid bacteria starter culture in the form of ginger bugwater kefir, or something else.
Turmeric fermenting in a lactic acid bacteria brew
5. Stir regularly for the first few days, cover from bugs, and ferment until it stops bubbling.
6. Dry the pieces of turmeric in a low oven or dehydrator. 

BTW in case you are new to fermentation, the bacteria consume the sugars in the water, as well as in the turmeric, and quite possibly increase the bio availability of beneficial compounds in the turmeric.


The resulting turmeric is sweet smelling and lighter in color than the fresh turmeric and presumably better for you.


Dried, fermented turmeric.  Mine in the front, Japanese brand in the back.

Other ways to incorporate fermented turmeric in your diet:

 Add powdered or fresh turmeric to live kim chi or sauerkraut.  Possibly add a few slices to a bottle of kombucha and leave on the counter for a day or two, at which time the bacteria, acids, and enzymes can perform their work.  What about adding the powder to sourdough pancakes?  Or perhaps mixing a few tbs of powder into your miso?  These are some ways to ferment turmeric.  Not saying they will taste super great, but they will most likely be super great for you.   


12 comments:

  1. maybe they consume some sugar, but i would be sceptical to the fact that they consume half a cup. great article btw

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey, I live in Hawaii and do my own cultured veggies, but never thought of adding fresh herbs. Do you hold classes on Oahu? North Shore?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Patti, I've recently moved to the mainland! But If I do another class on Oahu in the future, I will let you know.

      Delete
  3. I've been playing around with this and had a couple questions... 1. How long do you find that it bubbles? The first time I tried it was bubbling for a solid two weeks when I accidentally killed it in the oven. The second time it didn't bubble nearly that long. 2. Do you think there is any nutritional value in the liquid after fermenting the turmeric? I couldn't decide whether to consume it or toss it. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. hii thanks for your good articles visit us to see my new blog to see the benefits of turmeric tea.

    https://preservawellness.blogspot.com/2018/12/herbal-curcumin-ayurvedic-tea-daily_16.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. hii thanks for this articles. really love it if you want to know more about curcumin ayurvedic tea,curcumin tea visit our blogs:
    https://www.preservawellness.com/products?orderby=relevance&points=0%2C9999&PriceStart=0&PriceEnd=9999&SubcategoryIds=5

    ReplyDelete

  6. Hii thanks for this articles.I really appreciate it.if you want to know about ayurvedic,curcumin products than visit us:
    preserva wellness
    Curcumin Tea
    Curcumin Tea
    Curcumin Tea
    Turmeric Tea
    Turmeric Tea
    Turmeric Tea

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in August 2010. A valuable friend told me about Dr. Itua Herbal Center in West Africa. She gave me her phone number and email address. I quickly contacted him to guarantee that his herbal medicines will heal my cancer and I will heal forever I said OK.I ask him what is the healing process, he asks me to pay the fees I did and within 7 working days he sent me the herbal medicine and then he asked me I told my friend Gomez about the herbal drug so that he gave me to go and drink it.So after drinking for two weeks, I was cured, I am so grateful and I promise that I will do it I recommend to anyone who has cancer and that that I am doing. Herbal medicine Dr. Itua makes me believe that there is hope for people with Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, scoliosis, bladder cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, kidney cancer. , Leukemia, lung cancer, skin cancer, uterine cancer, prostate cancer Fibromyalgia,
    Fibrodysplasia Syndrome, Epilepsy,Sclerosis sickness, Dupuytren's Disease, Diabetes, Celiac Disease, Angiopathy, Ataxia, Arthritis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Alzheimer's Disease, Lupus, Adrenocortic Carcinoma.Asthma, Allergic Diseases.HIV Help, Bladder cancer,Brain cancer,Esophageal cancer,Gallbladder cancer,Gestational trophoblastic disease,Head and neck cancer,Hodgkin lymphoma
    Intestinal cancer,Liver cancer,Melanoma,Mesothelioma,Multiple myeloma,Neuroendocrine tumors
    Non-Hodgkin lymphoma,Cervical Cancer,Oral cancer,Ovarian cancer,Sinus cancer,Soft tissue sarcoma,Spinal cancer,Stomach cancer
    ,Testicular cancer,Throat cancer,Meniere's disease,Thyroid Cancer,Vaginal cancer,Vulvar cancer
    HIV Aids, Herpes, Disease Chronic inflammatory, Memory disorder,
     Here is his contact information ...... [Email ... drituaherbalcenter@gmail.com. Whatsapp ... + 2348149277967]

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ayurvedic red label tea - the simplest thanks to Kickstart Your Day Most people everywhere the planet love drinking tea. Some people cannot start their day without a steaming hot cup of teaTry Authentic and Fresh Indian Grocery Online at cartloot is one of the trusted Indian online grocery & shopping Store, which provide Genuine Indian Food, Indian groceries, Indian snacks, Spices, baby care, beauty care, and jewelry at the best prices with high quality

    Forget Your regular oats and Buy Healthy and Nutritious masala Maggi Oats from cartloot with wide varieties. Cartloot is a largest online shopping store for Indian food and Products.
    Buy your monthly Indian Food Online with wide varieties brands from cartloot which is a largest online shopping store of Indian Food. Shop all You Want.
    A delightful bowl of the Maggi Pazzta Mushroom pasta can gratify your mid-meal hunger pangs with ease. It combines the wholesome health benefits of suji or rawa (semolina) with the flavoursome savor of a cheese base. Additionally, since it only requires about five minutes of cooking time, you'll quickly make a bowl for yourself after. Try maggi pazzta cheesy tomato

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for sharing this informative information about Fermented Turmeric Powder with us. It's very helpful. Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete