Steps in turmeric processing By Mr Allah Dad Khan

2. Steps in Turmeric Processing
A Lecture
By
Mr. Allah Dad Khan

5. Name in International Language Name in Regional Language
Spanish Curcuma English Turmeric
French Curcuma, saffron des Indes Hindi Haldi
German Kurkuma gelbwurzel Bengali Holud
Swedish Gurkmeja Gujarati Haldi
Burmese fanwin Kannada Arishina
Arabic Kurkum Malayalam Manjal
Dutch Geelwortel Sindhi Halda
Sinhalese kaha Marathi Halad
Thai kamin Punjabi
Haldhor,Haldhar,
Haldi
Indonesian kunjit, kunyit Oriya Haldi
Italian Curcuma Tamil Manjal
Portuguese Acafrao-da-India Telugu Pasupu
Russian Zholty Imbir Kasmiri Lidar
Chinese Yu. Chin KonKani Halad, Ollod,Ollodi
India Haldi Sanskrit Haladi,Haridra, Harita
Urdu Haladi
Other names
Turmeric is known by different names in other languages. Given below, is a list of the popularly known names of this spice.

6. Origin
 Turmeric, a herbaceous plant, belongs to the rhizome family.. While
details about its origin are not clear, it is widely believed that
turmeric finds its roots in South East Asia or South Asia where it is
still grown extensively. A related species of turmeric , C.
xanthorrhiza grows in Java, Indonesia , where it is known as the
temu lawak. This species is similar in taste to C.domestica.
 InSubcontinent , it has been in use since time immemorial holding a
very important place among the spices of India for its proven
therapeutic properties. Its vivid, fast yellow colour made it an
important dyeing agent in the ancient times and it is once again
gaining popularity as a vegetable dye in todays ethnic apparel
industry.
 For more details on the botanical details of turmeric, please
navigate to the Turmeric Botany button


7. History

This root is highly revered in Ayurvedic medicine, as
well as general South Asian cuisine. Native to
Southern Asia, the name curcuma comes from the
Arabic word "kurkum", or "saffron", and is an
indication of its relationship to the vibrant orange
color of both herbs. Since Biblical times, turmeric
has been used to spice foods, make perfume and
color clothing.

8. Characteristics
In accordance to the norms of the Spice Board, the physical
characteristics of turmeric are finger like in shape, and forms the
secondary rhizomes of the plant Curcuma longa L.
Typical characteristics include:
 Well set,closely grained, free from bulbs (primarily rhizomes) and ill
developed, porous rhizomes
 Their shape, length, colour and other characteristics are typical of
the variety
As stipulated by the Spice Board, good grades of turmeric must
conform to the following specifications:
 Perfectly dry
 Free from damage caused by weevils, moisture, over-boiling or
fungus attack
 In a sample of good grade turmeric, only 1-2% by weight of
rhizomes will be accepted under the damaged or over boiled clause.

9. Distribution
 Turmeric is a perennial, herbaceous plant that
attains a growth rate of 60-90 cm in height. It has a
short stem and tufted leaves and is a native of the
Indian and Chinese tropical lands. With time,
turmeric has become a popular crop across all the
tropical nations.
 Today, it is cultivated extensively in India, Sri Lanka,
parts of China, Pakistan, Halti, Jamaica, Peru,
Bangladesh, El Salvador, Thailand, Taiwan and
Indo-China.

10. HERBAL PROPERTIES AND USES:

Turmeric has a vast variety of medicinal uses. In
traditional medicine, it used to treat liver ailments,
ulcers, parasitic infections, skin problems, bruises, joint
pain and inflammation, sprains, strains, cold and flu
symptoms, as well as a general digestive aid. Scientific
research shows that turmeric aids in breaking down liver
toxins, strengthens the functioning of the gallbladder,
aids in lipid (fat) metabolizing, and stops blood clotting.
In general, it is a good anti-inflammatory agent. What is
more, recent studies show that turmeric may help
prevent colon, breast, lung and other forms of cancers.

11. Climate and soil
 Turmeric can be grown in diverse tropical conditions
from sea level to 1500 m above sea level, at a
temperature range of 20-35oC with an annual
rainfall of 1500 mm or more, under rain fed or
 irrigated conditions. Though it can be grown on
different types of soils, it thrives best in well-drained
sandy or clay loam soils with a pH range of 4.5-7.5
with good organic status.

12. Preparation of land
 The land is prepared with the receipt of early
monsoon showers.The soil is brought to a fine tilth
by giving about four deep ploughing. Hydrated lime
@ 500 kg/ha has to be applied for laterite soils and
thoroughly ploughed. Immediately with the receipt
of pre-monsoon showers, beds of 1.0 m width, 15 cm
height and of convenient length are prepared with
spacing of 50 cm between beds. Planting is also done
by forming ridges and furrows

13. Seed material
 Whole or split mother and finger rhizomes are used for
planting and well developed healthy and disease free
rhizomes are to be selected. Small pits are made with a
hand hoe on the beds with a
 spacing of 25 cm x 30 cm. Pits are filled with well
decomposed cattle manure or compost, seed rhizomes
are placed over it then covered with soil. The optimum
spacing in furrows and ridges is
 45-60 cm between the rows and 25 cm between the
plants. A seed rate of 2,500 kg of rhizomes is required for
planting one hectare of turmeric.

14. Manuring and fertilizer application

 Farmyard manure (FYM) or compost @ 30-40 t/ha
is applied by broadcasting and ploughed at the time
of preparation of land or as basal dressing by
spreading over the beds or in to the pits at
 the time of planting. Zinc @ 5 kg/ha may also be
applied at the time of planting and organic manures
like oil cakes can also be applied @ 2 t/ha

15. Time of Sowing
 February and March

16. Mulching
 The crop is to be mulched immediately after planting
with green leaves @ 12-15 t/ha. Mulching may be
repeated @ 7.5 t/ha at 45 and 90 days after planting
after weeding, application of fertilizers and earthing
up.

17. Weeding and irrigation
 Weeding has to be done thrice at 60, 90 and 120
days after planting depending upon weed intensity.
In the case of irrigated crop, depending upon the
weather and soil conditions, about 15 to 23
irrigation's are to be given in clayey soils and 40
irrigation's in sandy loams

18. Harvesting
 Depending upon the variety, the crop becomes ready for harvest in 9-
10 months after planting during January-March. Early varieties
mature in 8-9 months, medium varieties in 9-10 months and late
varieties after 10 months. The land is ploughed and the rhizomes are
gathered by hand
 picking or the clumps are carefully lifted with a spade. The harvested
rhizomes are cleared of mud and other extraneous matter adhering
to them. The whole plant is removed from the ground. Care needs to
be taken to prevent the rhizomes being cut or bruised.

19. Yield of Turmeric
 The Yield of pure crop varies from 8000 to 10000
kg/ acre

21. Processing of Turmeric
 The processing of turmeric is to be done 2 or 3days
after harvesting. If there is delay in processing, the
rhizomes should be stored under shade or covered
with sawdust or coir dust.

22. Sweating
 The leaves are removed from the plant and the roots
carefully washed to remove soil. Any leaf scales and
long roots are trimmed off. The side (lateral)
branches (which are known as the fingers) of the
rhizomes are removed from the main central bulb
(known as the mother). The mothers and fingers are
heaped separately, covered in leaves and left to sweat
for one day. The ‘mothers’ are the preferred material
for planting the following year.

23. Curing and Boiling
 Curing involves boiling of fresh rhizomesin water and drying in the sun.In the
traditional method of curing, the cleaned rhizomes are boiled in water just
enough to immerse them. Boiling is stopped when froth comes out and white
fumes appear giving out a typical odour. The boiling should last for 45-60
minutes when the rhizomes turn soft. The stage at which boiling is stopped
largely influences the colour and aroma of the final product. Over cooking
spoils the colour of the final product while under-cooking renders the dried
product brittle.

24. Curing and Boiling
 The present practices recommended are:
 The rhizomes are placed in shallow pans in large iron
vats.
 Water is added to a level at 5-7cm above the rhizomes.
 Add 0.05 - 0.1% alkali (eg sodium bicarbonate).
 The rhizomes should be boiled for between forty to forty-
five minutes (as is done in India) and six hours (as is
done in Hazare in Pakistan) depending on the variety.

25. Drying
 The cooked fingers are dried in the sun by spreading them in5-7 cm
thick layers on bamboo mats or drying floor. A thinner layer is not
desirable, as the colour of the dried product may be adversely
affected. During night time, the rhizomes should be heaped or
covered with material which provides aeration. It may take 10-15
days for the rhizomes to become completely dry. The rhizomes are
removed and dried in the sun immediately to prevent over cooking.
The final moisture content should be between 8 and 10% (wet basis).
When a finger will snap cleanly with a metallic sound it is sufficiently
dry.

26. Polishing
 Dried turmeric has a poor appearance and a rough
dull outer surface with scales and root bits. The
appearance is improved by smoothening and
polishing the outer surface by manual or mechanical
rubbing.Manual polishing consists of rubbing the
dried turmeric fingers on a hard surface.
 Turmeric is also polished in power operated drums.
The yield of polished turmeric from the raw material
varies from 15-25%.


27. Colouring
 The colour of the processed turmeric influences the
price of the produce.For an attractive product,
turmeric powder (mixed with little water) may be
sprinkled during the last phase of polishing.

28. Grading
 Quality specifications for turmeric are imposed by
the importing country. They refer to the cleanliness
of the product rather than on the eating quality. Bulk
rhizomes are graded into fingers, bulbs and splits

29. Packaging
 Dried rhizomes and rhizome pieces are packed in
jute sacks, wooden boxes or lined corrugated
cardboard boxes for shipping.
Ground turmeric should be packaged in moisture
proof, air-tight polyethylene packages. The packages
should be sealed and labelled with attractive labels.

30. Storage
 The bulk rhizomes are stored in a cool and dry
environment, away from direct sunlight. The bright
colour of ground turmeric will fade when it is left in
the light for a long period of time. Therefore the
packets should be stored in a cardboard box, away
from the sunlight. The storage room should be clean,
dry, cool and free from pests. Mosquito netting
should be fitted on the windows to prevent pests and
insects from entering the room. Strong smelling
foods, detergents and paints should not be stored in
the same room.

31. Standard
US Government requirements and ASTA
Moisture (%) <9.0
Curcumin (%) 5-6.6
Volatile oil (%) <3.5
Extraneous matter (% by weight) 0.5
Mould (% by weight) 3.0