I’ve decided to move the Food Quiz from its own page to a regular post below:
I love food and regardless of whether I have studied it extensively or not, there is no way that I have an encyclopaedia of knowledge…therefore, I have set up this page so that I can be enlightened by people who know more than me about a particular food ingredient or process or anything else that puzzles me.
Food Quiz #1:
I saw this in an Asian grocery store recently and it said that it was packed in Thailand.
Can anyone tell me what you do with pickled Turmeric?
My friend Lia Youngs sent me an email:
I saw your quiz on pickled turmeric, and while I have never had any myself, I think I can give you some background. A few weeks ago, a friend and I took a cooking class at the Davis Food Coop on Ayurvedic Cooking. Afterwards, I was inspired to check out some books from the library, and it just so happens one of them has a recipe for pickled turmeric. Here is an except from “Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing”
All pickles and chutneys will add color, sparkle and taste to a meal. But their main role in the Ayurvedic cuisine is to stimulate agnie, raise the digestive fire and help with the digestive process. Like raitas, pickles and chutneys are eaten in small quantities.
There is also an index in the back of the book, which lists all the medicinal properties of turmeric:
Turmeric is the best medicine in Ayurveda. It cures the whole person…Turmeric helps digestion, maintains the flora of the intestine, reduces gas, has tonic properties and is an antibiotic. Turmeric can be used for a cough, a sty, diabetes, hemorrhoids, cuts, wounds, burns, and shin problems. It helps reduce anxiety and stress.
And here are just a couple of interesting applications:
- For external hemorrhoids, apply a mixture of ½ teaspoon of turmeric and 1 teaspoon of ghee locally at bedtime.
- For general protection from disease, carry turmeric root in your pocket or tie it on a yellow silk thread around your neck
Food Quiz #2
I was in a local Asian grocery store recently and saw this amazing jar of teeny tiny fish all lined up in a jar. It is from the Philippines and I am curious what the fish is used for and even more of a question is, how in the world do the manufacturers get the fish to all line up so perfectly?! They must employ people with little hands that can reach inside the mouth of the jar and align the fish perfectly by using chopsticks or something! Just kidding, but really, anyone have any ideas?
Desperately Seeking Crab 