Pure Fun™ loony lemon candies boast their sunshine color from turmeric.
Turmeric, with its brilliant yellow color, has been used as a dye, medicine, and flavoring since 600 BC. In 1280, Marco Polo described Turmeric as "a vegetable with the properties of saffron, yet it is not really saffron." Indonesians used Turmeric to dye their bodies as part of their wedding ritual. Turmeric has been used medicinally throughout Asia to treat stomach and liver ailments. It also was used externally, to heal sores, and as a cosmetic.
A relative of ginger, turmeric is a perennial plant that grows 3 to 5 feet high with trumpet-shaped, dull yellow flowers. Turmeric is fragrant and has a bitter, somewhat sharp taste. India is the world's primary producer of Turmeric. It is also grown in China and Indonesia.
Over the last several years, there has been increasing interest in turmeric and its medicinal properties. This is partially evidenced by the large numbers of scientific studies published on this topic. Turmeric (Curcuma longa), a flowering plant in the ginger family, is widely used as a food coloring. Turmeric has long been used in both Ayurvedic and Chinese cultures.
Pure Fun™ products that use Turmeric
