The chemical reactivity and solubility of the anionic curcumin, i. Curcumin is the key ingredient, as is the borax or vengaram. What of lime juice? The whole process takes time, which is why the bright red appears also slowly, as time wears on and the roots soak. Alum : a sulphate salt, in solution with lime juice presumably aids the deprotonation. Pause for a moment to note the products of turmeric degradation: vanillin, vanillic acid yes, the same as what is found in natural vanilla , ferulic aldehyde and ferulic acid a phenolic acid widely found in the plant kingdom, and widely used in anti-ageing creams and explaining perhaps the use of topical turmeric applications for skin health.
The magic of turmeric! Vanillin as a degradation product is particularly fascinating, suggesting a relatedness of turmeric and vanilla—and possibly their captivating fragrances—which bears some further investigating.
Water solubility: Now we know from everyday cookery that turmeric in its natural state is not water soluble—it needs lipids or fats to dissolve. So as curcumin ph increases, water solubility improves—possibly facilitating the penetration of the lime juice, possibly also just explaining why kumkumam is water soluble while turmeric is not. Very interestingly, the fresh turmeric never reddened as much as the dried pasupu, suggesting some property or ingredient of the fresh root interfering with the chemical reactions that result in the brilliant red of kumkumam.
Whatever offending agent interferes with the deprotonation of curcumin or keeps the mixture more acidic than alkaline must be something that dries out. The final addition of ghee : possibly for fragrance, possibly for those lipids to dissolve whatever trace curcumin remains, possibly for preservation—or all three. Happy belated birthday!
I loved reading this post. Hello Deepa I tried to make kumkum following the combination of alum, borax, lime, and turmeric. Some sites suggested that it was lemon that produced the red color. My observation was the opposite. On researching, as you noted in your post, it is the alkaline nature of borax that gives the red color to the turmeric powder. Thanks for sharing. Happy to know that what I discovered was something substantiated in your experiments, too!
Thank you for taking the time to let me know. Stumbled by your site and now completely mesmerised. Stay as passionate about researching the old Indian traditions…. The image of Devi has taken my breath away. Thank you so very much for taking the time to leave that comment!
It means a whole lot to know that folks reading find this as important as I do. Very good study. There are many ways people use chemical to organic kumkum. Using Alum and Borax is the right way. But perhaps some of us are working to change that! Your email address will not be published. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam.
Learn how your comment data is processed. It could be a powder, paste or liquid and is traditionally used for religious reasons and for pujas. Red sandalwood powder is utilised in some. Kumkum or Sindoor made from saffron is considered the purest and best but it is costly. Screwpine flower or Thalampoo fragrance red and also green Kumkum is made in Madurai. No wonder it causes serious adverse effects on human health when used as an ingredient of Kumkum or Sindoor. Sindoor is traditionally a mixture of turmeric and alum or lime juice.
However, most of what is available for sale is toxic because it is basically vermillion or Puja Roli which is made from cinnabar or mercury sulphide to which Pb 3 O 4 has been added. What is the significance? Sadhguru: The important thing is that it is turmeric. Applying it has certain health and other benefits. Another thing is it is used as a symbolism in the society. If a woman is wearing kumkum, she is married — that means she is not approachable.
This is just an indication, so that you do not have to tell everyone. In the western world, if someone is wearing a ring, you know they are married.
Here, the symbolism was that if a woman is wearing toe rings and sindhoor, that means she is a married woman. She has other responsibilities. Socially, this is a way of organizing a situation where there is a clear marking , a social way of discerning who is who in the society.
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