Do You Have To Peel Turmeric Before Juicing?

Turmeric shots and everything else turmeric is all of the rage lately. And if you’re like me, you probally want to make your own turmeric juice at home. Well, do you have to peel turmeric before juicing or can you just pop it into the juicer?

 

It seems you can’t pass a health food store that isn’t advertising turmeric shots, fresh turmeric tea, and even the Starbuck’s of the world have jumped on board with their Turmeric lattes.  But for people who find my blog, it’s a common desire to make juices and other drinks yourself at home.

That’s why I’ve set out to answer this particular question. Because, let’s face it. The first time you buy raw turmeric it can be quite scary. It looks like a strange root. So let’s make it less scary.

Do You Have To Peel Turmeric Before Juicing It?

Ok, so do you have to peel turmeric root before you juice it? What about making tea? Can you brew and make tea with turmeric without peeling it?

Simple answer is yes, but why would you? The skin on turmeric isn’t like the skin on something like a pineapple. It’s similar to ginger in that the skin isn’t super strong and tough.

But if you are going to juic turmeric or make tea, then I would suggest that you do try and peel it. It makes the resulting tea or juice much more pleasant.

Can You Juice Turmeric Root Raw?

Sure you can juice turmerc root raw. In fact, I would advise you to only juice raw turmeric root. Why would you waste time cooking it.

The reason that people juice turmeric is to get the benefits of the powerful antioxidnts. And as countless studies have shown, when you cook someting the antioxidenat load diminishes.

Simply put, only juice raw turmeric. There is no reason to roast, boil, or otherwise cook it.

If you’re going to mak tea, then that’s ok since the whole process involves heat (unless you are making a cold brew version of tea).

And while I like to scrape the skin off of turmeric, it’s not essential. Do you have to peel turmeric before juicing it? No. End of story.

Silly Questions: How Do I Juice Turmeric Without A Juicer?

Well, as I like to say, there are no silly questions. But this one comes pretty close. But hey people like to ask it, so let’s talk about it.

Previously, I covered this topic in two articles:

Can You Juice with a Blender?

Can A Juicer be used as a Blender?

The common question arrises because someone might only have a blender and not a juicer and they might wonder if they can use their blender to juice. Sadly, no.

There are some really entertaining videos online that showcase people making or trying to make juice from their blender.

The problem with this is that a blender isn’t designed to be a juicer. It doesn’t have the most important design features that even the most basic juicer has.

You can blend turmeric in a smoothie if you want (but make sure you’re using a really top of the line blender otherwise you’re going to get chunks) but you can’t make juice without a juicer.

No ammount of messy strainers, cheesecloth, or other contraptions will work.

 

How To Juice Turmeric With A Juicer?

Ok, so now onto the easy part. How to juice turmeric with a juicer. Simple.

I like to peel the turmeric with a spoon. It’s not as easy as peeling ginger, but it does remove the skin.

The one issue that you have to be aware of is that your hands will get stained yellow for a time. Turmeric dyes things (this is not harmful, it’s like berry juice).  But if you are concerned about the turmeric juice dying and staining your hands or plates or a porrus marble table, then I would be cautious.

That’s the big takeaway. Turmeric will stain porus onjects and require you to really get in their and scrub them. If you have a white countertop, or even a light colored one that absorbs stains, then be careful about juicing turmeric. Make sure that you have a towel or sponge handy to wipe up any spilled juice right away.

 

How To Juice Turmeric With A Juicer?

Simple. Just go ahead and wash the turmeric and put it in the juicer. There is not exhaustive prep needed to juice turmeric root.

You can, if you want, peel it, as I do. But be warned that turmeric will dye your hands for a while unlss you take to scubbing them heavily.

So, what I would suggest you do is simply make sure that you’ve washed the turmeic as much as possible and make sure that it’s clean.

Also, you want to try and buy organic turmeric whenever possible.

The main reason you are juicing turmeric root as opposed to adding turmeric powder is that there is such a problem with toxins and chemicals in powereded turmeric.

So, whether you’re making a leafy green juice or a fruit juice, it’s better to add real raw turmeric root instead of powder.

Is Juicing Turmeric Worth The Trouble?

After reading all about how turmeric stains your hands (temporarily) you might be wondering if it’s even worth it at all to juice turmeric.

Why not just get the powder..? Oh, that’s right most turmeric powder (unless you get organic turmeric powder) is highly suspect.

If you want to have turmeric in your juice, then yes, it’s worth the hassle.

Just be mindful when juicing that you use a cutting board, lay down a towel or have your sponge at the ready, and don’t spill any juice.

And just so you’re aware of turmeric and how it can dy things, check out the many videos on youtube that feature men and women dying their hair with turmeric. It’s considered one of the safest natural hair dyes by scientific studies.

Here’s one as an example. The woman in this video dyed her husbands hair with turmeric naturally. She didn’t bleach his hair first. The result is a light color.

If you’re going to try this at home, most videos suggest using straight turmeric powder mixed with conditioner or coconut oil and not just making a turmeric wash with water. That way it sticks to the hair longer.