Make your own Golden Paste - Turmeric

Golden Paste is a common method for consuming Turmeric. Follow this easy recipe to make your own.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup turmeric powder (125 mls) – Use organic powder.
1 cup water (250 mls)
1/2 cup water extra, if needed (125 mls)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper (7.5 mls) – We need this as turmeric is absorbed poorly in body. Piperine present in black pepper helps in its absorption.
70 ml cold pressed Olive or Coconut oil – Adding fats is another way to increase the absorption of turmeric in body. Chose healthy oils such as virgin coconut or virgin olive oil.

Method:
Add turmeric to water in a pan. Heat gently along with stirring. Do this till you get a thick paste. This can take anything from 6 to 10 min. If you feel your paste is watery, add some more turmeric if you feel it has become too thick, add some water.
At the end — add the pepper and oil. Keep stirring to ensure that all ingredients are mixed properly.
Allow it to cool. One great thing about this paste is you can keep it in a jar and refrigerate it. This will ensure you can make it once and use for a few days. Opinions vary on how long we can keep the jar, in my opinion 1-2 weeks is okay. Not more than that.

Notes:
• If you don’t like the taste, you can add it to smoothies or milk (Golden Milk), add honey, or make a tea with hot water & honey. Add to salad dressings or throw into soups etc.
• Much better to take small amounts regularly – i.e. a ¼ teaspoon 3 or 4 times a day rather than 1 teaspoon once a day.
• One of the issues with Turmeric is its ‘bioavailability’. How much is your body actually able to absorb. The Piperine in Black Pepper seems to aid this (see here for more info) as do good quality cold pressed fats (i.e. coconut oil).