Golden Milk: Properties and Recipe of Turmeric Golden Milk

Golden Milk: Properties and Recipe of Turmeric Golden Milk

Discover Golden Milk, the Turmeric Drink Rich in Benefits

With ancient origins, Golden Milk, a traditional drink of Ayurvedic medicine, is gaining strong popularity worldwide thanks to the significant benefits for psychophysical well-being derived from the properties of turmeric. The "golden milk" is indeed an ally of the body and holistic health, and in India it is considered a real panacea: let's discover together its properties and the recipe to prepare it at home according to tradition, to fully enjoy its beneficial effects, with some suggestions for alternative variations equally rich in properties.

Golden Milk or Golden Milk

The Golden Milk, or golden milk, is becoming one of the most popular food trends along with acai, matcha, and mate, as an energetic drink with numerous beneficial properties for health and nourishment. But what is it?

Also known as "golden milk," golden milk is a milk-based drink with turmeric, a cornerstone recipe of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian folk medicine, where it is considered one of the most effective natural remedies: traditionally prepared using whole cow's milk, turmeric, and black pepper, but today there are many variations that use plant-based milk, sweeteners, and other spices for flavoring.

If the significant psychophysical well-being properties attributed to golden milk come from curcumin, the active ingredient of turmeric to which important virtues are attributed, the other ingredients involved in the preparation of golden milk are equally essential for its effectiveness in terms of benefits, as without them, curcumin would not be properly absorbed and metabolized by the body.

If you want to prepare golden milk at home to enjoy the benefits of turmeric, it is essential to combine the spice with a fat, which allows curcumin, being fat-soluble, to be absorbed by the body, and black pepper (or alternatively ginger), which helps eliminate liver barriers and allows curcumin to be metabolized. Even if you make golden milk using recipe variations, replacing whole cow's milk with water or plant-based milk, or adding other spices, it is essential to combine a fatty element that allows the absorption of curcumin, and black pepper that makes it bioavailable thanks to the action of piperine.

By keeping these essential elements, it is possible to easily and quickly prepare different recipes of Golden Milk, adapting the drink to your tastes and desires. Golden milk can be enjoyed hot for breakfast instead of the classic cappuccino, accompanied by cookies or a piece of cake, or on cold winter afternoons, to enjoy its warming power and tonify and strengthen the body according to the principles of Ayurvedic tradition.

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Origin and History of Golden Milk

As we have seen, golden milk is a beverage originating from India. Specifically, it comes from Ayurveda, the ancient traditional Indian medicine based on body knowledge and health as a balance between physical, psychological, and environmental factors, aspects on which, for this philosophy, food and nutrition have a fundamental influence. While in the West, golden milk is considered a relatively new "trend," in Asia, this drink has been consumed for centuries and considered a fundamental ally for psychophysical health.

According to Indian tradition, drinking a cup of this golden milk every day for 30-40 days helps achieve the well-being of the body, thanks to the important properties of turmeric, also recognized by Western medicine: the spice is beneficial for combating inflammation, cleansing the liver, improving joint health, as well as fighting cold symptoms and boosting the immune system. In addition to the benefits, it is also a delicious drink to enjoy hot in winter, to warm up, energize, and find balance of the mind thanks to its grounding power, but also cold, so as not to give up the properties of turmeric even in summer.

Let's see together how to prepare golden milk at home and the different possible variations.

golden milk

Golden Milk: Recipe

The traditional recipe for golden milk is very simple to make, and represents an excellent base to which you can add other ingredients such as spices, medicinal herbs, and sweeteners like honey and syrups, to create a drink even richer in properties and benefits that reflect our tastes.

The most common recipe for golden milk involves preparing turmeric paste, a mixture that can be made in large quantities and stored in a jar to be used as needed, combined with milk or your preferred plant-based beverage, allowing you to prepare golden milk in minutes. Let's see together the ingredients and the preparation of golden milk with turmeric paste and without, with some tips to ensure the intake of benefits and properties of this energizing drink.

Ingredients for Turmeric Paste

N.B. By increasing the quantities, you can prepare large amounts of turmeric paste and store it in a glass jar to use it at any time, simply adding it to the milk or plant-based beverage of your choice.

The pepper-to-turmeric ratio to ensure the absorption of turmeric is always 4:1, so for every teaspoon of turmeric, add a quarter teaspoon of black pepper. If you use cow's milk, it will not be necessary to use a fat, which you can replace with water.

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Ingredients for Golden Milk

  • One cup of plant-based beverage (almond milk, rice...)
  • One teaspoon of honey (or other sweetener)

Preparation

  • Start by making the turmeric paste. Slightly heat the coconut oil to make it workable, add the turmeric powder and ground black pepper and mix until you get a homogeneous and dense mixture. The turmeric paste is ready and can be stored in a glass jar.
  • Heat the plant-based milk on the stove, bringing it almost to a boil. Pour it into a cup, and add a teaspoon of turmeric paste and honey, or your preferred sweetener.
  • Mix well, using, if available, a milk frother, until you get a homogeneous and frothy mixture. Decorate with sifted turmeric powder on the surface.
  • Here is your golden milk ready to enjoy hot!

Notes: Alternatively to coconut oil, you can use a different fat, such as sunflower seed oil or ghee, the clarified Ayurvedic butter (note, ghee is not vegan!), or even almond oil, if you appreciate its flavor.

Alternative Recipe for Making Golden Milk

The turmeric paste method is the most common for preparing golden milk, as it allows you to prepare it in advance and use a teaspoon to dissolve it in hot milk at the moment, to quickly prepare golden milk whenever you want.

However, it is also possible to make this recipe by simply combining all the ingredients together: in this case, you will need to bring the plant-based milk to a boil, add the chosen fat, a teaspoon of turmeric, a quarter teaspoon of black pepper, and the sweetener, stirring well until the milk is yellow and smooth and the ingredients are well combined.

Alternatively, you can also use the prepared golden milk mix that you can find for sale on Terza Luna, a ready-made blend that can be added to boiling milk and your preferred fat to easily make golden milk at any time. The Terza Luna Golden Milk powder mix contains turmeric, black pepper, whole cane sugar, and cinnamon.

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In this video, we explain how to prepare golden milk easily with the powder mix.

How to Store Turmeric Paste

Turmeric paste can be prepared in advance in large quantities and stored for about a month in a closed glass jar, even outside the refrigerator, as it contains dry and non-perishable elements. To use it to prepare golden milk, simply heat the milk and add a teaspoon of it, stirring carefully.

Properties and Benefits of Golden Milk

Golden milk is a beverage with numerous benefits, guaranteed by the properties of turmeric, especially its active ingredient, curcumin, and its correct absorption and metabolism thanks to the other ingredients present in it. Specifically, turmeric is appreciated for its properties:

  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Antioxidant
  • Immunostimulant
  • Eupeptic
  • Liver detoxifying
  • Choleretic and cholagogue

Turmeric is therefore a liver detoxifier, an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antibiotic. It combats joint pain and osteoporosis, improves joint mobility, and is an antitumor, in addition to having antioxidant properties and fighting bad cholesterol (LDL).

This spice is rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, which counteract oxidative stress damage and cellular degeneration, improving skin health and combating aging. In Ayurvedic medicine, golden milk is a very important beverage, considered essential for restoring psychophysical well-being, a panacea against fatigue, useful for combating physical and mental fatigue, bad mood, and depression.

Golden milk is also beneficial for the immune system and helps balance intestinal health, improving digestion.

This beverage is particularly recommended for winter, as it helps combat seasonal illnesses and issues related to cold and cooling, such as chilblains, colds, coughs, cold hands and feet: it is anti-inflammatory, antiviral, warming, combats joint problems, and is therefore suitable for athletes and women.

golden milk or turmeric latte

When to Drink Golden Milk?

Golden milk, according to Ayurvedic tradition, should be consumed in the evening, ideally every day. According to traditional Indian medicine, drinking a cup of golden milk a day for 40 days is recommended to achieve overall well-being. Since it does not contain caffeine or specific contraindications, golden milk can be enjoyed at any time of the day: having it for breakfast will provide you with energy to start the day, offering warmth and a grounding effect, while having it as a snack helps to counteract energy slumps that often occur in the body mid-day, especially during stressful and tiring periods, as it provides important nutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins.

Contraindications

There are no specific contraindications related to consuming golden milk, unless there is an intolerance to one of the ingredients. Turmeric may interact with certain medications or conditions, so if you are taking medication, it is advisable to consult your doctor before consuming golden milk.

Variations of the Traditional Recipe

Golden milk is an energizing and delicious beverage that can be enriched with additional spices like cinnamon or nutmeg, flavors, and adaptogens, or modified in terms of ingredients, using different types of milk or fat to enhance the already significant properties and benefits and create a "golden milk" that fully reflects our tastes. Here are some ideas for tasty and delightful variations of golden milk that are sure to win you over.

Golden Milk with Cinnamon

Golden milk is often made by adding cinnamon, a spice that synergizes well with turmeric, being warming and rich in properties. Even in Terza Luna's golden milk mix, there is a portion of cinnamon, making the drink more aromatic and fragrant, while also providing numerous additional benefits such as lowering blood sugar levels.

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Golden Milk with Fresh Turmeric

An alternative method for preparing golden milk is to use fresh turmeric. Turmeric is a knobby rhizome: for golden milk, it should be cut into pieces and boiled for 5-10 minutes in milk, which should then be strained. It is important to note that when using fresh turmeric, it will be necessary to double the doses, as the turmeric root contains water, which affects the percentage of active ingredient found in golden milk.

Golden Milk with Almond Milk

As mentioned, golden milk can be prepared with cow's milk, as per the traditional recipe, or a vegan variation can be made with a plant-based beverage. Therefore, you can use almond milk, but also rice, oat, or soy milk. In this case, it is important to remember to add a fat that allows the absorption of curcumin, as unlike regular milk, plant-based beverages do not contain a fatty component.

Golden Kefir

One of the most recent variations of golden milk is "golden kefir": in this case, it is not a hot drink, but a cold one, prepared by adding a teaspoon of turmeric paste or golden milk powder to kefir, the fermented milk-based beverage, and carefully mixing, adding to the already important properties given by curcumin those of the drink rich in probiotics. It is important not to add turmeric during the preparation of kefir, in case it is made at home, as it would contaminate the grains used for milk fermentation, which could no longer be used to prepare other kefir.

Other Variants

The combinations of spices and aromatic herbs that can be added to golden milk are endless. For example, you can replace black pepper with ginger, which has the same effect on curcumin metabolism, or add other flavors like vanilla, star anise, cardamom, or cloves.

To increase the beneficial effect, you can add other powdered botanicals with different active ingredients, such as ashwagandha for a relaxing effect, bacopa to improve concentration, or echinacea mother tincture for immune defenses improvement. The golden milk preparation allows us to integrate different adaptogens and spices, creating the recipe that best meets our needs.

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golden milk powder

Where to Find Golden Milk?

Golden milk can be prepared at home by purchasing the individual ingredients like turmeric powder, Tellicherry black pepper to grind, and other spices on Terza Luna. In some specialized stores, you can find jars of ready-made turmeric paste, but preparing it is so simple that we recommend making it yourself, enriching it with your favorite flavors and spices. Alternatively, on Terza Luna, you can find the ready-made golden milk compound, to be added to cow's milk or plant-based milk combined with a fat to quickly and easily prepare your steaming cup of golden milk!

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