TURMERIC PROCESSING

Introduction
Turmeric (Curcuma domestica) is an erect perennial plant
grown as an annual crop for its rhizome (underground
rootlike stem bearing roots and shoots). It belongs to the
same family as ginger (Zingiberaceae) and grows in the
same hot and humid tropical climate. The rhizome is a
deep bright yellow colour and similar form to the ginger
but slightly smaller. The plant originated in the Indian
sub-continent and today India is the worlds leading
producer and consumer of turmeric. It is also produced in
China, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka,
Australia, Africa, Peru and the West Indies. Turmeric
plays an important role in Indian culture- it is an essential Figure 1: Fresh turmeric.
ingredient of curry, used in religious festivals, as a Photo: Practical Action / Neil Noble
cosmetic, a cloth dye and in many traditional health
remedies. The spice is sometimes referred to as ‘Indian
saffron’.

Turmeric production
The Turmeric plant is propagated by planting pieces of the previous season’s rhizome, which
grows to form plants of about 0.9 metres tall. The plant has long stemmed leaves and pale
yellow flowers and requires a loamy soil. It grows in a wide range of climatic conditions, but
does require rainfall of between 1000 and 2000mm a year. It can grow in locations that are up
to 1220m above sea level.

Harvesting
Turmeric is harvested when the plants are between 7 and 10 months of age, when the stems and
leaves start to dry out and die back. The whole plant is removed from the ground, taking care
not to cut or bruise the rhizomes.

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.

Curing
Before drying, the turmeric rhizomes have to be cured. This involves boiling the roots to soften
them and remove the raw odour. After curing, the starch is gelatinised, which reduces the drying
time required, and the colour is uniformly distributed throughout the rhizome.

The specifications for curing turmeric vary from different places. The Indian Institute of Spice
Research and the Agricultural Research Centre recommend boiling in plain water for 45 minutes
until froth appears at the surface and the typical turmeric aroma is released. Using this method,
the colour will deteriorate if the rhizomes are boiled for too long. However, if not boiled for long
enough, the rhizome will be brittle. The optimum stage is reached when the rhizomes are soft to
touch or can be pierced by a blunt piece of wood.

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Turmeric processing Practical Action

Other researchers recommend boiling the rhizomes in an alkaline solution, made from 0.05% to
1.0% sodium carbonate or lime (calcium carbonate). The alkaline water is thought to improve
the final colour of the dried turmeric.

Because the fingers and bulbs are of different size and thickness to each other, it is important
that they are cured in different batches. The curing time is dependent on the age, variety and
size and thickness of the rhizomes and varies from one to four or sometimes six hours. It is also
affected by the size of the batch – smaller batches generally produce a higher quality dried
turmeric as the curing process is easier to control and monitor. It is recommended to use
perforated containers with a capacity of 50-75kg. The perforated containers are immersed in the
boiling water for the required cooking time. This method allows the boiling water to be used for
more than one batch of turmeric.

The best time for curing is two to three days after harvest. If it is delayed after this then the
rhizomes may start to deteriorate.

The benefits of curing turmeric include the following:

 Reduction of drying time
 More even colour distribution throughout the rhizome
 A more attractive (not wrinkled) product that is easier to polish
 Sterilisation of the rhizomes before drying.

Drying
The rhizomes are sliced before drying to reduce the drying
time and improve the quality of the final product (it is
easier to achieve a lower final moisture content in small
pieces of rhizome without spoiling the appearance of the
product). The rhizomes are traditionally sliced by hand,
but there are small machines available to carry out this
process. Figure 3 shows a simple turmeric slicing machine
designed in Bolivia. It is a simple structure that contains a
transmission system and two stainless steel circular blades.
The machine is easy to build and maintain and can cut up
to 120kg turmeric per hour.

The cooked fingers or bulbs are dried until they have a final
Figure 2: A simple slicing
moisture content of 5-10%. An experienced turmeric
machine used in Bolivia.
processor will know when the rhizome is dry enough as the
fingers will snap cleanly with a metallic sound. Traditionally
the rhizome pieces are laid on clean concrete floors and
dried in the sun. This method can take anything from 10 to
15 days, depending on the climate and the size of the
rhizome pieces. It is important that the rhizome pieces are not placed in direct sunlight as this
will cause the colour to fade. Using a mechanical drier will result in a better colour and a higher
quality product.

There are several different types of mechanical drier that are suitable for drying turmeric. These
include the tray drier, cross flow air tunnels, solar driers and cabinet driers. The optimum drying
temperature is 60°C – temperatures higher than this result in a darker coloured product. See
the Practical Action Technical Brief on drying for further general information on driers.

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Figure 3: A typical tray drier

Figure 4: A typical solar drier developed in Bolivia

Polishing
After drying the rhizomes are polished to remove the rough surface. This can be done by hand or
by shaking the rhizomes in a gunny bag filled with stones. Polishing drums are used in many
places – these are very simple, power driven drums that have an abrasive metallic mesh lining.
In some places the rhizomes are sprinkled with a solution of ground turmeric in water during the
final polishing, to give the rhizomes a good colour.

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. The Indian standards for turmeric follow
the Agmark Specifications (Agricultural Directorate of Marketing) to ensure quality and purity of
the products.

Grade Flexibility Broken Foreign Defectives Percentage

pieces, matter of bulbs by
fingers weight max
<15mm
No more than No more No more
(% by weight) than (% by than (% by
weight) weight)
Alleppey fingersa
Good Hard to touch 5 1 3 4
Fair Hard 7 1.5 5 5
Fingers other than Alleppey
Special Hard to touch, 2 1 0.5 2
metallic twang on
break

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Good Same 3 1.5 1 3

Fair Hard 5 2 1.5 5
Rajapore fingersb
Special Hard to touch, 3 1 3 2
metallic twang on
break
Good Same 5 1.5 5 3
Fair Hard 7 2 7 5
Non- - - 4 - -
specified
Bulbsc
Special - - 1 1 -
Good - - 1.5 3 -
Fair - - 2 5 -
Table 1. Agmark standards for turmeric rhizomes (www.turmeric.8m.com/standards.html)

a
Fingers shall be of secondary rhizomes of Curcuma longa L.; shall be well set and close
grained; free from bulbs; be perfectly dry and free from weevil damage and fungus attack and
not be artificially coloured with chemicals.
b
. Same as (a); have the characteristics of the variety; admixture of varieties of turmeric allowed
at a maximum of 2%, 5%, 10% and 10% for the four grades respectively.
c
. Bulbs shall be primary rhizomes of Curcuma longa L.; shall be well developed, smooth and free
from rootlets; have the characteristics of variety; be perfectly dry and free from weevil damage
and fungus attack; not artificially coloured with chemicals.

Varieties of turmeric

Alleppey Comes from Kerala. Has a deep yellow colour with a high pigment content (6.5%
curcumin). This type is popular in the USA.
Madras Comes from Tamil Nadu. Is a mustard colour with a lower pigment content
(3.5% curcumin). This type is popular in the UK.
West Indian Comes from the Caribbean. It is a dull yellowish brown colour.
Table 2. Varieties of turmeric.

Grinding
Grinding can be a method of adding value to a product. However, in general it is not advisable
to grind spices as they become more vulnerable to spoilage. The flavour and aroma compounds
are not stable and will quickly disappear from ground products. The storage life of ground spices
is much less than for the whole spices. It is very difficult for the consumer to judge the quality
of a ground spice. It is also very easy for unscrupulous processors to contaminate the ground
spice by adding other material. Therefore most consumers, from wholesalers to individual
customers, prefer to buy whole spices.

Turmeric is one of the few spices that is usually

purchased in a ground form. The whole rhizome pieces
may be exported and then ground in the country of
destination. Alternatively, the dried rhizomes may be
ground at the place of origin.

Grinding is a very simple process that involves cutting

and crushing the rhizomes into small particles, then
sifting it through a series of screens of different mesh
size, to get a fine powder. There are a range of grinding Figure 5: Ground Turmeric Photo
mills available, both manual and powered, of different credit: Practical Action / Neil Noble
capacities and which work in different ways. The
traditional way to grind would be between two stones.
The advantage of this method is that the turmeric does
not get too hot during the grinding process. With some

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Turmeric processing Practical Action

of the mechanical mills, such as a hammer mill, heat is generated during the grinding process,
which can cause some of the volatile taste and aroma compounds to be lost. For higher quality
ground turmeric, the grinding temperature should be kept as low as possible.

After grinding the powder is sieved through different mesh screens until a uniform, fine powder
is obtained.

Grade Moisture Total ash Acid insoluble Lead Starch Chromate

(%w/w) max (%w/w) max ash (%w/w) (ppm) (%w/w) test
max max max
Turmeric powdera
Standar 10 7 1.5 2.5 60 Negative
d
Coarse ground powderb
Standar 10 9 1.5 2.5 60 Negative
d
Table 3: Agmark standards for turmeric powder (www.turmeric.8m.com/standards.html)
a
. Ground to pass through a 300 micron sieve
b
. Ground to pass through a 500 micron sieve

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. The label needs to contain all
relevant product and legal information – the name of the product, brand name (if appropriate),
details of the manufacturer (name and address), date of manufacture, expiry date, weight of the
contents, added ingredients (if relevant) plus any other information that the country of origin and
of import may require (a barcode, producer code and packer code are all extra information that is
required in some countries to help trace the product back to its origin). See the Practical Action
Technical Brief on labelling for further information on labelling requirements.

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.

Standards

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

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Equipment suppliers
This is a selective list of suppliers of equipment and does not imply endorsement by Practical
Action.

This website includes lists of companies in India who supply food processing equipment.
http://www.niir.org/directory/tag/z,,1b_0_32/fruit+processing/index.html

Dryers

Acufil Machines
S. F. No. 120/2, Kalapatty Post Office
Coimbatore - 641 035
Tamil Nadu Rank and Company
India A-p6/3, Wazirpur Industrial Estate
Tel: +91 422 2666108/2669909 Delhi – 110 052
Fax: +91 422 2666255 India
Email : acufilmachines@yahoo.co.in, Tel: +91 11 7456101/ 27456102
acufilmachines@hotmail.com Fax: +91 11 7234126/7433905
http://www.indiamart.com/acufilmachines/# Rank@poboxes.com
products
Industrias Technologicas Dinamicas SA
Bombay Engineering Works Av. Los Platinos 228
1 Navyug Industrial Estate URB industrial Infantas
185 Tokersey Jivraj Road Los Olivios
Opposite Swan Mill, Sewree (W) Lima
Mumbai 400015 Peru
India Tel: +51 14 528 9731
Tel: +91 22 24137094/24135959 Fax: +51 14 528 1579
Fax: +91 22 24135828
bomeng@vsnl.com Ashoka Industries
http://www.bombayengg.com/contact.html Kirama
Walgammulla
Planters Energy network (PEN) Sri Lanka
No 5, Power House 3rd Street +94 71 764725
N R T Nagar
Theni 625531 Kundasala Engineers
Tamil Nadu Digana Road
India Kundasala
Tel: +91 4546 255272 Kandy
Fax: +91 4546 255271 Sri Lanka
info@pen.net.in Tel: +94 8 420482
http://www.pen.net.in/Contactus.asp
Alvan Blanch
Premium Engineers Pvt Ltd Chelworth, Malmesbury
Plot No 2009, Phase IV, GIDC Wiltshire
Vatva, Ahmedabad 382445 SN16 9SG
India UK
Tel: +91 79 25830836 Tel: +44 1666 577333
Fax: +91 79 25830965 Fax: +44 1666 577339
enquiries@alvanblanch.co.uk
www.alvanblanch.co.uk

Mitchell Dryers Ltd

Denton Holme, Carlisle
Cumbria

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Turmeric processing Practical Action

CA2 5DU Fax: +44 1228 633555

UK webinfo@mitchell-dryers.co.uk
Tel: +44 1228 534433 http://www.mitchell-dryers.co.uk/

Slicing machines

Central Institute of Agricultural

Engineering Narangs Corporation
Nabi Bagh P-25 Connaught Place
Berasia Road New Delhi 110 001
Bhopal 462 038 India
Madhya Pradesh Tel: +91 11 2336 3547
India Fax: +91 11 2374 6705
Tel: +91 755 2737191
Fax: +91 755 2734016 DISEG
director@ciae.res.in Av Jorge Carlos Mariategui 1256
http://www.ciae.nic.in/ Villa Maria del Triunfo
Lima
Peru
Eastend Engineering Company Tel: +51 14 283 1417
173/1 Gopal Lal Thakur Road
Calcutta 700 035 Servifabri
India JR Alberto Aberd
Tel: +91 33 25536937 No 400 Urb Miguel Grau (Ex Pinote)
Fax: +91 33 23355667 San Martin de Porres
Lima
Gardners Corporation Peru
158 Golf Links Tel/Fax: +51 14 481 1967
New Delhi 110003
India
Tel: +91 11 3344287/3363640
Fax: +91 11 3717179

Cleaning/abrasive machines

Central Institute of Agricultural

Engineering Servifabri SA
India (see above) Peru (see above)

Gardners Corporation Crypto Peerless Ltd

India (see above) Bordesley Green Road
Birmingham
Rajan Universal Exports B9 4UA
Post Bag no 250 UK
162 Linghi Chetty Street
Chennai 600 001
India
Tel: +91 44
25341711/25340731/25340751
Fax: +91 44 25342323
rajeximp@vsnl.com
http://rajeximp.com/rajeximp/contact.html

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Turmeric processing Practical Action

Milling and grinding machines

Central Institute of Agricultural Sri Lanka (see above)

Engineering
India (see above) Alvan Blanch
UK (see above)
Gardners Corporation
India (see above) C S Bell Co
170 West Davis Street
Premium Engineers PVT Ltd PO Box 291
India (see above) Tiffin
Ohio 44883
Rajan Universal Exports PVT Ltd USA
India (see above) Tel: +1 419 448 0791
Fax: +1 419 448 1203
Kundasala Engineers

Packaging and labelling machines

Acufil Machines
India (See above) Pharmaco Machines
Unit No. 4, S.No.25 A
Gardners Corporation Opp Savali Dhaba, Nr.Indo-Max
India (see above) Nanded Phata, Off Sinhagad Rd.
Pune – 411041
Gurdeep Packaging Machines India
Harichand Mill compound Tel: +91 20 65706009
LBS Marg, Vikhroli Fax: +91 20 24393377
Mumbai 400 079
India Rank and Company
Tel: +91 22 2578 3521/577 5846/579 India (see above)
5982
Fax: +91 22 2577 2846 Banyong Engineering
94 Moo 4 Sukhaphibaon No 2 Rd
MMM Buxabhoy & Co Industrial Estate Bangchan
140 Sarang Street Bankapi
1st Floor, Near Crawford Market Thailand
Mumbai Tel: +66 2 5179215-9
India
Tel: +91 22 2344 2902 Technology and Equipment Development
Fax: +91 22 2345 2532 Centre (LIDUTA)
yusufs@vsnl.com; mmmb@vsnl.com; 360 Bis Ben Van Don St
yusuf@mmmb.in District 4
Ho Chi Minh City
Narangs Corporation Vietnam
India (see above) Tel: +84 8 940 0906
Fax: +84 8 940 0906
Orbit Equipments Pvt Ltd
175 - B, Plassy Lane John Kojo Arthur
Bowenpally University of Science and Technology
Secunderabad - 500011, Andhra Pradesh Kumasi
India Ghana
Tel: +91 40 32504222
Fax: +91 40 27742638 Alvan Blanch
http://www.orbitequipments.com UK (see above)

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Contacts

The following contacts should be able to provide further information:

Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR)

Marikunnu PO, Calicut
Kerala
India 673012
Tel: +91 495 2731346
+91 495 2730294
parthasarathy@iisr.org; rdinesh@iisr.org
http://www.iisr.org/package/index.php?spice=Turmeric&body=Overview

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay

Powai
Mumbai 400076
India
Tel: +91 22 2572 2545
Fax: +91 22 2572 3480
http://www.ircc.iitb.ac.in/webnew/

Further reading
Practical Action Technical Briefs:
Drying of Foods Practical Action Technical Brief
Food Labelling Practical Action Technical Brief
Drying selection of Practical Action Technical Briefs
Herbs and Spices selection of Practical Action Technical Briefs
Drying UNIFEM Practical Action Publishing 1995
Processing of Black Pepper, Practical Action Food Chain No. 3
Spice Plants, M. Borget, 1993, CTA/MacMillan
Ground and Packaged Spices: Options and Difficulties in Processing at Origin . Marketing Series
7, NRI, 1993
Quality assurance for small-scale rural food industries. Chapter 2.4 Herb and spice products.
FAO agricultural services bulletin 117, 1995.
Try Drying It! Case Studies in the Dissemination of Tray Drying Technology , B Axtell,Practical
Action Publishing 1991
Producing Solar Dried Fruit and Vegetables for Micro and Small scale Rural Enterprise
Development, A Series of Practical Guides' written by the Natural Resources Institute.
Setting up a food drying business P Thuillier, Practical Action Publishing, 2002
Drying Food for Profit B Axtell, Practical Action Publishing, 2002
FAO InPHO Indian Spices

This document was produced by Dr. S Azam Ali for Practical Action in January
2008. Dr. S Azam-Ali is a consultant in food processing and nutrition with over
15 years experience of working with small-scale processors in developing

Practical Action
The Schumacher Centre
Bourton-on-Dunsmore
Rugby, Warwickshire, CV23 9QZ
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1926 634400
Fax: +44 (0)1926 634401
E-mail: inforserv@practicalaction.org.uk
Website: http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/

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