Turmeric powder is made from the dried and finely ground rhizome of the turmeric plant (Curcuma longa), a member of the ginger family native to South Asia. Used for thousands of years in Indian, Southeast Asian, and Middle Eastern cooking, turmeric adds a warm, earthy flavor and deep golden color to foods. Turmeric contains yellow-orange polyphenols called curcuminoids, including curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin. Curcumin is the most extensively studied of these compounds and contributes much of turmeric’s distinctive color and biological activity. Turmeric also provides manganese, iron, fiber, aromatic oils, and numerous other plant compounds that contribute to its nutritional and functional properties.