How to Make Golden Paste with Turmeric, Black Pepper & Coconut Oil
Turmeric paste, also commonly called golden paste, is a popular herbal remedy for inflammatory conditions, based on traditional Ayurvedic medicine.
There are many benefits of turmeric paste and taking it daily is highly recommended.
Given this, it’s best to make up gold paste in bulk using this recipe and keep it in the fridge to use regularly.
3 Essential Ingredients for Golden Paste
1. Organic Turmeric
Get the best quality powdered turmeric you can for the most golden paste benefits.
That means pure organic turmeric powder only, tested for impurities and with a long record of customer satisfaction.
This USDA organic powder I use in my kitchen fits the bill. It has a natural, deep golden color, rich taste and passes the home water test for additives.
Buying it in bulk makes sense as turmeric paste can be addictive with how good it makes you feel when taken regularly.
2. Black Pepper
Piperine is an alkaloid found in black peppercorns that significantly enhances the absorption of turmeric’s curcumin compound within your body. Add black pepper to any recipe with turmeric for this synergistic benefit.
Use freshly ground black peppercorns for the most piperine, either Piper nigrum or Piper longum varieties, not pink peppercorns. Pre-powdered black pepper will have little piperine.
Tellicherry peppercorns, like these great tasting ones, are the world’s best black pepper and likely to contain far more piperine than inferior supermarket pepper.
3. Coconut Oil or Other Healthy Oil
Curcumin absorption is greatly improved when turmeric is consumed with a source of beneficial fatty acids.
Organic coconut oil, like this one I use daily, is the best base oil for golden paste and highly recommended to use for this recipe.
This is because it not only tastes great, but is also predominantly lauric acid, an anti-inflammatory fatty acid linked to weight loss.
With many people making turmeric paste for inflammation diseases like arthritis, it obviously makes good sense to use anti-inflammatory coconut oil.
Definitely don’t use pro-inflammatory vegetable oils, such as corn, soy, cottonseed, sunflower or canola oil. These harmful oils are linked to obesity and a wide variety of serious conditions like heart disease.
Some turmeric paste recipes, including the famous Doug English one, mention using linseed (flaxseed oil).
Unfortunately, despite the many benefits of flax oil, it should never be heated. It’s so heat sensitive it’s kept in the fridge to prevent degradation so don’t ever cook with it.
Avocado oil is the best alternative if you can’t use coconut oil. With high heat stability, more monounsaturated fats and beneficial nutrients, avocado oil is superior to olive oil in virtually every way.
If you do use olive oil then make sure you keep the temperature right down. Extra virgin olive oil has an extremely low smoke point and becomes toxic at high temperatures.
Macadamia oil, ghee, butter or even lard could also be used, though these last two are better if you’re making golden paste for dogs (macadamia and avocado oil should not be used for canines, according to Doug English). This recipe is for humans.
Simple Method for Making Turmeric Paste
Here’s a quick and simple recipe for golden paste using the 3 essential ingredients — turmeric powder, ground black pepper and coconut oil (alternatively use avocado oil or olive oil).
Following this are recommended additional herbs and spices to give your turmeric paste even more antioxidants, nutrients and other beneficial properties.
Ingredients
- Half a cup of good quality turmeric powder, preferably organic and high curcumin, like this one I use to make my golden paste.
- 1 cup of filtered water.
- 1 tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper (yes it’s a bit but needed for best absorption). If sensitive to pepper try 1 teaspoon the first time.
- A third of a cup of organic coconut oil or equivalent.
Method
- Combine the turmeric powder and water in a saucepan on a low heat for several minutes, stirring regularly, until you have a thick paste. A low simmer is okay but turn down the heat immediately if it starts to boil.
- Take off the hotplate and allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes.
- While the gold paste of turmeric is still warm, but not super hot, add the coconut oil, black pepper and any other ingredients. If the coconut oil is hard from the fridge it can be added a few minutes early to melt.
- Stir the mixture in really well for at least a minute, preferably two, to blend it all together.
- Allowed to cool and store in airtight glass jars in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, ready to use in golden milk and the other recipe suggestions ahead.
3 Recommended Herbs and Spices to Add
- 2 tablespoons of ground Ceylon cinnamon — a potent antiviral and blood sugar moderator with a great flavor.
- 1 tablespoon of ground cardamom — antioxidant, antimicrobial, cancer fighting and blood pressure lowering benefits.
- 2 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger root — learn more about why ginger and turmeric work so well together in this turmeric tea recipe.
Add any or all of these at the same time as the black pepper and stir vigorously to get them well blended into the paste.
8 Ways to Use Golden Paste in Your Daily Diet
1. Golden Milk
One of the simplest ways to enjoy turmeric paste is mixing a teaspoon of it with a warmed milk of your choice (I like coconut milk) to make the famous golden milk.
This is quicker and far healthier than the complicated turmeric milk recipes you see online with their focus on sweetness rather than nutrition.
2. Add to Smoothies
If you make up a smoothie with strong flavors then you’ll barely taste half a teaspoon of gold paste blended into it. This smoothie for arthritis would be a great one to add it to.
3. In Vegetable Juices
Golden paste goes particularly well stirred into carrot juice and even this parsley juice recipe for kidney and liver detox.
4. Golden Salad Dressing
Mix together 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of turmeric paste for a tangy and nutritious salad dressing with a beautiful golden color.
5. Add to Soups or Bone Broth
I’m a big fan of pumpkin soups and golden paste stirred in before serving is a great way to boost their nutritional content. Likewise for other rich tasting soups and bone broths.
6. Golden Scrambled Eggs
Mixed into scrambled egg recipes, or whisked together when making an omelette, is another easy and tasty way to enjoy your turmeric paste.
7. Brighten up Rice Dishes
Try stirring a teaspoon of golden paste into freshly cooked rice. I recommend black or red rice for the most nutrition and flavor.
8. Golden Honey
Combine an equal amount of proper raw honey and turmeric paste, such as 1 tablespoon of each, to make golden honey. Store in a sealed container in the fridge.
Generally the sugars of honey aren’t recommended for many of the health conditions helped by golden paste.
However, antibacterial golden honey is excellent for persistent coughs and painful sore throats, as described in how to make turmeric tea.
Making a Difference with Golden Paste
You can learn much more about just how potent this recipe is in 23 benefits of turmeric paste, including some wide ranging uses for this versatile natural cure.
Once you’ve made up the recipe and have it ready to use, read about the recommended dosage and possible side effects of turmeric paste here.
I hope this simple method for making golden paste is helpful. Please share it with friends as taking this natural treatment regularly can make a dramatic difference to your wellness and well-being.
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