Golden Milk (Turmeric Latte)

Before you start

Golden milk is warm milk colored and flavored with turmeric, usually with ginger, cinnamon and black pepper, and sweetened lightly. It draws on long traditions of spiced milk in South Asia, though the café latte version is a much more recent arrival. Done badly it tastes of dust; done well it is earthy, peppery and gently sweet.

The most important step is cooking the spices in a little fat before the milk goes in. Curcumin, the compound that gives turmeric its color, does not dissolve in water but does dissolve in fat, so blooming it in ghee or coconut oil carries color and flavor through the cup instead of leaving sediment. Black pepper is the traditional partner, and it gives the drink its warmth; claims about how much more curcumin the body takes up with pepper are widely repeated, but this recipe uses it for flavor and makes no health promises.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp ghee or virgin coconut oil
• 1 tsp (about 3 g) ground turmeric — or 2.5 cm (1 in) fresh turmeric, finely grated
• ½ tsp ground ginger — or 1 cm fresh ginger, finely grated
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch (about ⅛ tsp) freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pinch ground cardamom — optional
• 240 ml (1 cup) whole milk or unsweetened oat or coconut drinking milk
• 1 to 2 tsp honey or maple syrup — to taste

Method

1. Warm the ghee or coconut oil in the saucepan over low heat. Add the turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper and cardamom and stir for 30 to 45 seconds, until fragrant and the paste turns a deeper orange. Do not let it brown; scorched turmeric tastes bitter.
2. Pour in a splash of the milk and whisk it into the spice paste until smooth, then add the rest of the milk.
3. Heat over medium-low, whisking now and then, until steaming with small bubbles at the edge, 3 to 4 minutes. Hold it just below a simmer for another minute to round out the flavor of the spices.
4. If you used fresh turmeric and ginger, pour the milk through a fine strainer into the mug to remove the fibers.
5. Stir in the honey or maple syrup off the heat, tasting as you go. A frother or a few seconds of brisk whisking gives the top a light foam.

Tips for success

• Ground turmeric goes stale quickly and loses its color. If your jar smells faint and dusty, a fresh one will make more difference than any other change.
• Turmeric stains wood, plastic and countertops. Use a metal or glass whisk, rinse equipment immediately, and wipe spills with a little dish soap.
• Make a spice paste ahead: cook 3 tbsp turmeric, 1 tbsp ginger, 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp pepper in 60 ml coconut oil with 60 ml water for 5 minutes. Refrigerate and use 1 heaping tsp per mug.

Substitutions

Ground turmeric

Fresh turmeric root tastes brighter and more peppery-citrus but is milder in color; use about 2.5 cm per cup and strain. Turmeric latte blends work but often contain sugar, so reduce the honey.

Whole milk

Coconut drinking milk suits the spices and keeps it dairy-free. Almond milk is thinner and can split slightly with the heat; keep it below a simmer.

Honey

Maple syrup or date syrup keeps it vegan. Leaving it unsweetened is fine, but a little sweetness softens the earthiness of the turmeric.

Variations

Iced golden milk

Make the spiced milk with half the milk, chill it, then pour over ice and top with cold milk.

Golden chai

Simmer 1 black tea bag in the milk for 3 minutes before straining for a caffeinated version.

Troubleshooting

The drink is gritty with a sludge at the bottom

The spices were not bloomed in fat or the powder was coarse. Cook them in the oil first, whisk well, and strain if needed.

It tastes bitter or medicinal

Too much turmeric or it scorched. Drop to ¾ tsp and keep the blooming step gentle and short.

The milk curdled

Very hot plant milks, especially almond, or acidic sweeteners can split it. Heat more gently and add the sweetener off the heat.

Storage

Drink it fresh. Leftover golden milk can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 2 days; shake or whisk before reheating, because the spices settle. The cooked spice paste keeps for about 2 weeks in a sealed jar in the fridge.