How to make a turmeric powder shot, and what it can and can't do

There's a jar of ground turmeric in most kitchen cupboards, and sooner or later everyone who owns one wonders whether it could stand in for a shop-bought shot.

A turmeric powder shot is ground turmeric stirred into a small drink, usually with lemon, ginger, and black pepper. It's quick and warming, but an analysis of shop-bought turmeric and curry powders found pure turmeric powder averaged just 3.14% curcumin by weight, so a spoonful is mostly flavour.

Key takeaways

• A turmeric powder shot takes about two minutes and needs ingredients most kitchens already have.
• Ground turmeric is a spice first. It brings colour and warmth, and only a small share of it is curcumin.
• Curcumin on its own is poorly absorbed, which is why a pinch of black pepper belongs in any turmeric drink.
• Enjoy a powder shot as a flavour drink, but don't count it as your daily turmeric habit.
• Buy powder from a reputable retailer, and keep the jar sealed and dry.

What is a turmeric powder shot?

It's the cupboard version of a turmeric shot, made by stirring ground spice into a small amount of liquid.

A turmeric powder shot is defined as a single small drink made by mixing dried, ground turmeric with water or juice, usually sharpened with lemon and warmed up with ginger and black pepper. It sits at the opposite end of the scale from a shot pressed from fresh root, which is made by crushing the raw rhizome and keeps its juice and aromatic oils.

Both are turmeric shots in name. They taste different, and they do different jobs, which is the part worth knowing before you make one.

How do you make a turmeric powder shot?

Stir, shake, and drink straight away, because the powder settles fast.

For one shot of about 60ml you'll need:

• Half a teaspoon of ground turmeric
• The juice of half a lemon
• A pinch of ground ginger, or a little freshly grated root
• A small pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• One teaspoon of honey, or to taste

• Around 40ml of warm, not boiling, water

• Put the turmeric, ginger, pepper, and honey in a small glass or jar.

• Add a splash of the warm water and stir into a smooth paste, which stops the powder clumping.
• Add the lemon juice and the rest of the water, and stir or shake hard.
• Drink it straight away, before the turmeric sinks to the bottom.

Two practical tips. Turmeric powder doesn't dissolve, it only disperses, so expect some sediment and give it a swirl as you go. And it stains, so use a glass rather than your favourite plastic tub, and wipe up spills quickly.

If you'd rather make a shot from fresh root, our guide to how to make a turmeric shot at home has the full method.

Does a turmeric powder shot count as your daily turmeric?

No. It's a lovely warming drink, but it's flavour rather than your daily habit.

The reason is in what powder is. Ground turmeric is the whole dried root, and curcumin, the compound most turmeric research focuses on, makes up only a small part of it. The analysis above found pure turmeric powders averaged 3.14% curcumin, and curry powders contained far less, with wide variation between brands.

Then there's absorption. A review of curcumin's bioavailability describes it as poorly absorbed, quickly metabolised, and quickly cleared from the body. In the black pepper study often quoted on this subject, people given 2g of pure curcumin on its own had blood levels that were undetectable or very low. That's a far larger amount of curcumin than any half teaspoon of powder contains.

So a powder shot is perfect for what powder is perfect for: colour, warmth, and a sharp, earthy start to the day. It flavours your morning rather than forming your turmeric habit, and that's fine, as long as you know which one you're doing.

Why add black pepper to a turmeric powder shot?

Because black pepper is the one addition with real evidence behind it.

The same study found that adding 20mg of piperine, the compound that gives black pepper its bite, turned those barely detectable curcumin levels into clearly measurable ones. Our guide to turmeric and black pepper explains how that works and what the much-quoted figures actually measured.

Many recipes also add a little fat, such as a teaspoon of coconut oil or a splash of milk, for a smoother drink. That's a reasonable kitchen habit, and it makes the texture better, but the pepper is the part with the trial behind it.

Is it safe to drink turmeric powder every day?

In the amounts used in cooking and in a home shot, turmeric is generally well tolerated, with minor side effects such as an upset stomach for some people. For scale, EFSA's acceptable daily intake for curcumin, set for its use as a food colouring, is 3mg per kilogram of body weight a day.

Quality is the thing to watch. Turmeric is a spice where colour sells, and a study of turmeric production in Bangladesh found lead chromate, a bright yellow pigment, had been added to turmeric in seven of nine major growing districts there to boost its colour. That research is about one country's supply chain, not about UK shelves, but it's a good reason to buy from reputable retailers rather than unlabelled market sacks.

If you take prescription medicines, speak to your pharmacist or GP before making any turmeric drink a daily habit. Our guide to turmeric side effects covers who should take extra care.

Where does a pressed turmeric shot fit?

As the daily habit, with the powder shot kept for the weekends you fancy making something.

Raw Turmeric Original is cold-crushed from raw turmeric root, which makes up 30% of the shot, the most in our range. It's a whole watermelon-based blend with pineapple and lemon, plus magnesium and vitamin C, and our trade-secret BioMax Uptake Blend®, which includes black pepper, at a 0.1% inclusion. It's the same in every bottle, so nothing depends on how heavy your hand was with the spoon.

It's also the shot independent researchers at Nottingham Trent University gave to professional footballers in the first clinical trial of our blends, two a day, where it was linked to lower inflammation markers and less muscle soreness after matches. We're clearly not a neutral party, and 24 footballers is a small, specific group.

If you're weighing up formats more broadly, our comparison of turmeric shots vs capsules vs powder goes through each one.

The takeaway

A turmeric powder shot is easy, cheap, and genuinely nice: half a teaspoon of spice, lemon, ginger, a pinch of black pepper, and some warm water. Enjoy it for the flavour and the ritual. Just don't count it as your daily turmeric, because powder carries only a small share of curcumin and curcumin on its own is poorly absorbed.

For the daily habit, Raw Turmeric Original gives you cold-crushed raw root with black pepper already in the blend, ready in the time it takes to open the fridge.

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