Recipe
Golden milk — turmeric decoction
About 15 minBeginnerRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Put 250 ml of milk or a plant-based drink into a small pan with 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric (or 2 cm of fresh grated rhizome).
- Add a pinch of freshly ground black pepper and half a teaspoon of fat (ghee, coconut oil) — the traditional pairing that helps curcumin pass into the drink.
- Stirring, bring to a gentle simmer and let it draw for 5–10 minutes; a slice of ginger or a little cinnamon can go in too.
- Strain through a sieve and sweeten with honey once it has cooled to drinking temperature.
Extraction
- Herb:
- 1 teaspoon of powder or 2 cm of fresh rhizome per 250 ml
- Solvent:
- milk or a plant-based drink with a little fat; boil briefly for 5–10 minutes
- Shelf life:
- drink warm, the same day
- Target compounds:
- curcuminoids are lipophilic — fat and heat increase their transfer into the drink; piperine from pepper is traditionally part of the blend
Notes
Kitchen amounts of turmeric are ordinary food for a healthy adult. Anyone with gallstones, obstructed bile ducts or liver disease should skip turmeric as a remedy (EMA monograph). The drink stains — mind teeth and clothes.
Why it works
Curcuminoids dissolve poorly in water and better in fat; piperine from pepper raised their blood levels in human studies. A home drink still contains far less than the extracts used in trials — it is a traditional food, not a dosed treatment.
Literature
- EMA HMPC — Curcumae longae rhizoma, European Union herbal monograph — Traditional use for mild digestive complaints (fullness, slow digestion, flatulence), adults only.
- Hewlings SJ, Kalman DS (2017): Curcumin: A Review of Its Effects on Human Health. Foods 6(10):92 — Review of curcumin's low bioavailability and its enhancement by fat and piperine.
Related
Turmeric — Herb card
Decoction — Processing method detail