"tumeric root" news and stories

I use my microplane to zest, grind and grate nearly every day (it would appear that I cook a lot). I started out with the basic one that came with no handle, just a flat strip of razer sharp teeth that take a nutmeg and turn it into aromatic pile of shavings. Then I moved up to the flexible set which I love because you can swap out different levels of grater blades quickly and easily (if you're tempted by that prospect, you need to act fast as this set has been discontinued).

Now there's a new microplane that I've got my eye on, and it's a cutie. Designed for spices, it catches the shavings in its little case, which makes it deadly easy to accurately measure your amounts (instead of eyeballing it or trying to scrape it off the cutting board and into a measuring spoon). Best of all is that if you buy it from the Spice House, they'll throw in a whole nutmeg, cinnamon stick, ginger and turmeric root. Go forth and grate!

Thanks K.F.!

Until I read Mac's post about the tumeric root she recently bought, I had never really considered where tumeric powder came from. I don't think that had I turned my brain over to pondering the question I would have necessarily landed on a root as the correct answer. I think I would have assumed some sort of ground seed. It's amazing what you can learn from blogs.

My previous ignorance aside, Mac is now looking for ways to use this stash of tumeric root. Any of you in-the-know foodies have recommendations for her? Other than peeling, drying and grinding it for homemade powder, how else to you use this vibrant yellow root?

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