Turmeric Latte
A turmeric latte is just exactly what people who “hate health food” hate about what they are labeling health food: it reeks (to some, literally) of the counter culture of love beads and hash that went against everything squares stood for, understood, or liked. They derided health food as a fad in a decade heavy with them, but the health food movement of the 1970s was the pop culture apex of practices that long predate the Age of Aquarius. Today we rarely use the term "health food," referring instead to the reasonable practice of healthy eating that is widespread, accepted, and encouraged throughout our culture. Just a few decades ago, however, health food was an extension of the Back to Earth movement, an outgrowth of a society being revised by a generation that questioned, and often rejected, the western consumerist culture they had been born into. To go "back to earth" meant to eat naturally, often growing one's own food, but it could also mean living collectively, making one's own daily necessities from clothing to soap, or practicing earth centered religions or rituals. Less dramatically, back to earth influenced the decade through anything from earth colors to the resurgence of folk art and craft.
It also, in a suitably associative path, led many to investigate non-western ways of being, especially in religion and medicine. Earth-centered religions and practices from Shamanism to Wicca moved forward as alternatives to a Judeo-Christian default, as did eastern practices such as Buddhism and Hinduism. Eastern philosophies influenced much of the counter culture, but while Back to Earth was assigned to hippies, it was not solely or even predominantly a hippie phenomenon. Back to earth alienated square society overall, but it spoke to plenty within the squares' own ranks. Tales, no few of them gaining power almost mythic, abounded of middle-agers (at a time when that was calculated to start in one's thirties) who left the rat race to pursue what they characterized as authenticity, whether that was reinventing themselves in a tent on a commune or in an A frame on a mountainside. And from all of this, many distanced themselves from Western medicine by either supplementing or replacing it with natural remedies and practices from herbalists, acupuncturists, hypnotists, even faith healers. That synthesis of spirit and body leads us to Ayurveda, the medical system practiced in India for centuries (which for the record I do not practice), and to the wonder root of turmeric.
It also takes us to irony, a quality for the modern age if ever there was one, for those who derided health food as a fad at the time might very well have been doing so from within a consumerist culture that found value, and sales, in such decidedly unnatural trends as instant coffee and stackable potato chips. And it brings us to the present, where a turmeric latte can be viewed as bougie as it once was esoteric, right down to being called a latte to begin with. But then that is appropriate, as it connotes both the relationship and the differences between the coffeehouse and the practitioner's salon, as swirled into a cup of hot spiced milk.
Hot milks are used in Ayurveda to treat symptoms and as tonics to fortify the body. Haldi doodh is a hot milk made with turmeric and a sweetener such as coconut or honey. Turmeric is a root native to southeast Asia including the Indian subcontinent. As a spice it is ubiquitous in Indian cooking, notably in curries where it imparts both its deep, powerful heat and its corresponding golden color. But that heat is not the capsicum intensity we measure on the Scoville scale; turmeric's heat is bitter and earthy, akin if amplified to its cousin ginger's. Like cilantro, turmeric's flavor is controversial and some have a genetic disposition not to tolerate it. It is powerful, so a little goes a long way both to flavor your curry and to stain your hands and clothes. In all dishes, turmeric must be balanced by such agents as other spices. That is why it marries so well with milk, whose alkaline nature, especially when paired with a sweetener, tames turmeric's fire without extinguishing its heat.
Turmeric lattes are common offerings on the coffeehouse blackboards of the American west. That makes some purists cringe at possible trendiness, but it makes sense. In this land of good vibes, where gluten-free is a given option on almost any menu and packets of incense are sold in the supermarket, the turmeric latte is as common to the cultural landscape as toe rings. And while no one wants to harsh your mellow about soaking up some vibes at the coffee house, it is simple to make a turmeric latte at home. It is also appropriate, for hot milks are common to the Indian kitchen. For that, we show respect and gratitude for the cooking and for the culture. To that end, check out the writings of Raghavan Iyer, the legendary Madhur Jaffrey, and Nik Sharma's column for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Turmeric Latte
Turmeric is sold as a ground spice but is increasingly available as the root. You can use either but I prefer ground; this recipe is written accordingly, with latitude as to how strong you want the flavor to be. Whether ground or fresh, turmeric is guaranteed to stain skin and cloth, so wear gloves and an apron, and don't rub your eyes!
2/3 cup coconut- or almond milk
2 tablespoons raw sugar
1 - 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
Ground mace, ginger, or nutmeg if desired
Bug Juice
Crazy Waters
The Wet Bar
It also, in a suitably associative path, led many to investigate non-western ways of being, especially in religion and medicine. Earth-centered religions and practices from Shamanism to Wicca moved forward as alternatives to a Judeo-Christian default, as did eastern practices such as Buddhism and Hinduism. Eastern philosophies influenced much of the counter culture, but while Back to Earth was assigned to hippies, it was not solely or even predominantly a hippie phenomenon. Back to earth alienated square society overall, but it spoke to plenty within the squares' own ranks. Tales, no few of them gaining power almost mythic, abounded of middle-agers (at a time when that was calculated to start in one's thirties) who left the rat race to pursue what they characterized as authenticity, whether that was reinventing themselves in a tent on a commune or in an A frame on a mountainside. And from all of this, many distanced themselves from Western medicine by either supplementing or replacing it with natural remedies and practices from herbalists, acupuncturists, hypnotists, even faith healers. That synthesis of spirit and body leads us to Ayurveda, the medical system practiced in India for centuries (which for the record I do not practice), and to the wonder root of turmeric.
It also takes us to irony, a quality for the modern age if ever there was one, for those who derided health food as a fad at the time might very well have been doing so from within a consumerist culture that found value, and sales, in such decidedly unnatural trends as instant coffee and stackable potato chips. And it brings us to the present, where a turmeric latte can be viewed as bougie as it once was esoteric, right down to being called a latte to begin with. But then that is appropriate, as it connotes both the relationship and the differences between the coffeehouse and the practitioner's salon, as swirled into a cup of hot spiced milk.
Hot milks are used in Ayurveda to treat symptoms and as tonics to fortify the body. Haldi doodh is a hot milk made with turmeric and a sweetener such as coconut or honey. Turmeric is a root native to southeast Asia including the Indian subcontinent. As a spice it is ubiquitous in Indian cooking, notably in curries where it imparts both its deep, powerful heat and its corresponding golden color. But that heat is not the capsicum intensity we measure on the Scoville scale; turmeric's heat is bitter and earthy, akin if amplified to its cousin ginger's. Like cilantro, turmeric's flavor is controversial and some have a genetic disposition not to tolerate it. It is powerful, so a little goes a long way both to flavor your curry and to stain your hands and clothes. In all dishes, turmeric must be balanced by such agents as other spices. That is why it marries so well with milk, whose alkaline nature, especially when paired with a sweetener, tames turmeric's fire without extinguishing its heat.
Turmeric lattes are common offerings on the coffeehouse blackboards of the American west. That makes some purists cringe at possible trendiness, but it makes sense. In this land of good vibes, where gluten-free is a given option on almost any menu and packets of incense are sold in the supermarket, the turmeric latte is as common to the cultural landscape as toe rings. And while no one wants to harsh your mellow about soaking up some vibes at the coffee house, it is simple to make a turmeric latte at home. It is also appropriate, for hot milks are common to the Indian kitchen. For that, we show respect and gratitude for the cooking and for the culture. To that end, check out the writings of Raghavan Iyer, the legendary Madhur Jaffrey, and Nik Sharma's column for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Turmeric Latte
Turmeric is sold as a ground spice but is increasingly available as the root. You can use either but I prefer ground; this recipe is written accordingly, with latitude as to how strong you want the flavor to be. Whether ground or fresh, turmeric is guaranteed to stain skin and cloth, so wear gloves and an apron, and don't rub your eyes!
2/3 cup coconut- or almond milk
2 tablespoons raw sugar
1 - 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
Ground mace, ginger, or nutmeg if desired
- Carefully measure the turmeric into the milk as follows: 1 teaspoon for mild, 1-1/2 teaspoons for medium, 2 teaspoons for intense.
- Set the milk mixture aside to infuse for 5 minutes.
- Measure sugar into a saucepan. Add two tablespoons water. Heat on low, whisking constantly, until a simple syrup forms, approximately 4 minutes.
- Remove the simple syrup from the heat. Gently whisk the turmeric-infused milk into the syrup, working carefully to avoid burns or stains.
- Once the mixture is incorporated, return to the heat.
- Whisk the mixture until it is thick and fragrant, approximately 30 seconds.
- Pour into a mug. Top with a dash of ground mace, ginger, or nutmeg if desired.
- Serve immediately.
Bug Juice
Crazy Waters
The Wet Bar
Comments
Post a Comment