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Don’t forget to clean your kitchen utensils as quickly as you can once you’ve finished with them. The longer you leave turmeric stains in place, the harder it is to get rid of them.

Storing turmeric root (How to)

5 from 2 votes
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Learn the proper way to store the turmeric root or you can freeze the root to extend its shelf life for up to 6 months.

Ingredients:

  • Turmeric root

Instructions:

Storing in the Fridge:

  • Before you store fresh turmeric, you need to get rid of any dirt with a small brush. Wherever it came from – your local grocery store or your own indoor garden, cleaning before storing is essential.
  • Dab dry with a piece of paper kitchen towel. The most common problem with storing turmeric root in your fridge is that mold can develop. Drying it properly helps to stop this from happening.
  • To help keep it dry and soak up any condensation that could form on it when stored inside a fridge, I like to wrap the rhizomes in a dry paper kitchen towel and then place them into a ziplock bag.
    Don’t wrap them too tightly, though. Give them a chance to breathe. Before you put the bag into the fridge, squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing.
    Another idea is to wrap the turmeric in a paper bag if you don’t have any kitchen towel to hand. This, too, will absorb any moisture that might form.
  • Find an area inside your fridge where you can easily see the bagged turmeric, or it could be a case of, out of sight, out of mind. You don’t want to store for any longer than about two weeks.
    As I mentioned earlier, if you do spot any mold spots, cut them out and restore the rest of the Rhizome in a new piece of paper kitchen towel, as the old piece could be contaminated with spores.

Store in the Freezer:

  • Wash the Rhizome, peel away the skin, and cut into small pieces.
  • Take your food processor and rub the inside of the bowl with two or three drops of oil. This helps to make cleaning the bowl easier when you’re finished. Add the pieces of turmeric and blend into a smooth paste.
  • Take a flat plate, cover it with plastic film-wrap, and spread a thin layer of the turmeric paste over the film. Place in the freezer for three or four hours.
    Once it’s frozen solid, you can peel away the plastic film (it comes out very easily), then either break the frozen turmeric paste into small pieces or, if you prefer, you can cut it into pieces with a knife.
    As you only spread the paste thinly, you’ll find that it breaks easily. Put the broken pieces into a ziplock bag and store them back in the freezer.
  • Add a small piece of frozen turmeric into the milk and pop it into the microwave for a few seconds. Add as little or as much to the milk as you like, but don’t go overboard as it can be a little bitter if you do. It’s so easy, and what’s best – no big cleaning job every morning.

Freezing using Ice cube tray:

  • Prepare your paste in the food processor. Take your fridge ice-cube tray. Line with plastic film before filling the hole with paste, leaving a good overhang on each side. The film will help to protect the tray from getting stained.
  • Spoon one to two teaspoons of turmeric paste into each recess.
    With some kitchen scissors, cut the excess film to be able to seal the turmeric packet.
  • Once all wrapped, put into a freezer-friendly Ziplock bag and freeze. Now, every time you fancy a cup of golden turmeric-infused milk, all you have to do is take one or two pieces of turmeric out of your freezer, and you’re away.

Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.

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