Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a perennial plant of the ginger family. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 68°F and 86°F, and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive. Plants are gathered annually for their rhizomes, and re-seeded from some of those rhizomes in the following season.

The rhizomes are boiled for several hours and then dried in hot ovens, after which they are ground into a deep orange-yellow powder commonly used as a spice in curries and other South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Its active ingredient is curcumin and it has an earthy, bitter, peppery flavor and a mustardy smell.

In medieval Europe, turmeric became known as Indian Saffron, since it is widely used as an alternative to the far more expensive saffron spice.

Sangli, a town in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra, is the largest and most important trading center for turmeric in Asia, maybe the entire world.