Turmeric and Its Many Uses  

The turmeric root has been touted as a medicinal plant that boosts the immune system and wards off minor infections, liver ailments, and healing wounds. But this wonder plant from the ginger family is also ground into a powder and bottled as a tasty seasoning in the East Indian culture. In today’s edition of Belize on Reel, News Five’s Marion Ali and George Tillett travelled to Toledo where turmeric is harvested and used as medicine and seasoning. Here’s that report.

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

Derrick Guy makes a living off the turmeric root. He uses a portion of his farmland at Yemeri Grove to plant and harvest a few thousand pounds each year. Some of it he sells to a factory several miles away, and the rest he grinds into what is called yellow ginger. This is a powder that can be added to almost any pot – a meal that is then called takari.

 

Derrick Guy, Turmeric Farmer, Toledo

“We usually harvest it in dry weather and when we harvest it, we usually put back the seed back under the earth. But we usually harvest it on full moon that ih last long and ih nuh ketch weevil when you process it, noh. We wash it like two, three times, we boil it, we put it out in the sun let it dry. No rain enough to catch it because it can spoil. You got to crack it first with the mill and from there you grind it, then sieve it, and grind it again till it comes to come to lone powder.”

 

 

 

Guy says there are other methods of harvesting and processing turmeric, but the end product doesn’t last long.

 

Sherene Garay-Usher owns and manages Garay’s Restaurant in Punta Gorda. Her establishment caters largely to customers who want takari food, which is any meal that is cooked with yellow ginger. She agrees that the way turmeric is processed makes all the difference. Even though she processes the root for her own uses, when she needs to buy, she says she prefers Guy’s method of processing over the others.

 

 

 

 

Sherene Garay-Usher, Owner and Manager, Garay’s Restaurant

“If yoh goh buy it da the stores the yellow ginger taste different. Some of them don’t even have color. Soh ih yellow in the bottle, but when you cook it, the stuff doesn’t come out yellow.”

 

Marion Ali

“Why is that?”

 

Sherene Garay-Usher

“Because they’re not dry, good. The processing is different.”

 

Marion Ali

“And now, you have a famous kitchen in PG, and everybody knows this kitchen or know about your cooking. And that taste of that yellow ginger. It’s traditional to you, it’s unique to you, and you’re saying it’s because of the way it’s processed?”

 

Sherene Garay-Usher

“Yes, it’s because of the way it’s processed, and for me, when I buy yellow ginger, most of the time I try to buy from Mr. Derrick because they do it almost the way how we grow up di do it, the traditional way.”

 

Garay-Usher attests that this yellow ginger powder can be used in almost any pot.

 

Sherene Garay-Usher

“The split peas yoh just sprinkle a little bit in it when it start boil up and thing. But, when I cook the cohune cabbage, I fry up my yellow ginger before I put in the cohune. The pork, I have to fry the yellow ginger a little bit and that is because the yellow ginger nuh processed the way how I would do it for myself.”

 

 

 

 

Marion Ali

“I see, yes. If you had done it for yourself, how would you have done it?”

 

Sherene Garay-Usher

“If I had done it for myself, I would have made my paste and have it ready for when I ready to cook. I could just season the meat with it.”

 

 

Garay’s Kitchen is so popular for its unique takari dishes that Garay-Usher says she gets orders not only from the Toledo District but sometimes from as far away as Belize City, Belmopan and Corozal.

 

Sherene Garay-Usher

“Most people da PG basically follow the East Indian or the Creole when it comes to the food. On a daily basis most people look forward to eating something takari. People would da just call or just message and say, please send this or please send that, and they just pay online and then I just put it on the plane. Most of it da the Takari or if I cook cohune cabbage, like today I had an order to send by the plane.”

 

 

 

 

While turmeric is ground into yellow ginger and takari dishes are popular East Indian cuisines, it is also used for medicinal purposes. Guy said he uses it as a booster.

 

Derrick Guy

“They have it in capsule too for medicine and when I go on YouTube, they say it has 54 different benefits.”

 

Marion Ali

“Do you use it as medicine?”

 

Derrick Guy

“Of course but I cook with it a lot and I also boil it and drink it for tea.”

 

 

 

Marion Ali

“What does it do?”

 

Derrick Guy

“They say it helps the immune system, noh. It fights against different sickness and things. Ih good for joint pain too also.”

 

The internet suggests that turmeric has several health benefits for which the product can be used as well. Marion Ali for News Five.