424 SPICES 



CHAP. 



in Tamil ; Katha, Cingalese ; Kunyet in Malay, Kuong- 

 huyuh in Cochin-China, and Kiang-hoang in Chinese. 



The English word turmeric is of unknown deriva- 

 tion, and the old word for it, terra-merita, seems rather 

 to be derived from it. From the Arabic Kurkum, we 

 get the Latin Curcuma. 



HISTORY 



Turmeric does not seem to have been known as early 

 as ginger, and never ranked in importance as high as that 

 spice, being chiefly valued for its colour. Dioscorides, 

 A.D. 77 or 78, mentions a kind of "cyperus" which 

 resembles ginger, but when chewed has a yellow colour 

 and bitter taste, doubtless turmeric. Marco Polo men- 

 tions it as occurring at Koncha (the neighbourhood of 

 Fokien, in China) in 1280, describing it thus: "There 

 is also a vegetable which has all the properties of true 

 Saffron, as well the smell as the colour, and yet it is not 

 really Saffron. It is held in great estimation, and being 

 an ingredient in all their dishes, it bears on that account 

 a high price." This could only refer to turmeric, though 

 it is used more as a dye-stuff in China nowadays than a 

 spice. In medieval times it was commonly known as 

 Indian Saffron (crocus indicus), by which Latin name 

 Garcia da Orta mentions it. He states that in his time 

 much was produced in Cananor and Calicut, and a small 

 quantity from Goa. Great plenty was imported by the 

 Arabs, Persians, and Turks, who obtained it from India. 



VARIETIES 



There does not seem to be much variation in the 

 plant or its produce. In the trade, however, it is dis- 

 tinguished into China, Madras, Bengal, and Cochin. 

 China turmeric is the most esteemed, but is seldom to 

 be met with in the market. Madras and Bengal are 

 the ordinary trade turmerics. Cochin turmeric does 

 not appear to belong to Curcuma long a at all, but to 

 be the produce of C. aromatica. 



