turmeric

Everyday

Turmeric is a bright yellow-orange spice made from the dried and ground root of a plant in the ginger family. It is used in curries and to colour food. tree →

In the lessons

Food and geography: turmeric is used a lot in Indian, South Asian and other cooking and gives curry its yellow colour; India grows most of the world's turmeric. Science: it stains clothes and fingers yellow, and its colour changes to red-brown in alkaline solutions, so it can be used as an indicator in experiments. Myth: turmeric is sometimes sold as a cure for many illnesses, but scientists have not shown strong proof that it cures diseases.

Examples

• Turmeric makes the rice yellow. tree →
• Mum added a spoon of turmeric to the curry. tree →
• Turmeric stained my fingers orange. tree →
• Turmeric comes from a root, like ginger. tree →
• In science, turmeric paper turned red with soap. tree →
• Be careful, turmeric stains are hard to wash out. tree →

Note

Uncountable. Spelling trap: tur-mer-ic (people often say «TOO-mer-ik» and forget the first r). Said «TUR-muh-rik».