Zedoary (White Turmeric): The Bitter Rhizome Europe Forgot

Medieval Europe treated zedoary as a spice, then forgot about it. This bitter, strongly aromatic rhizome, sold as white turmeric, is Curcuma zedoaria, a close relative of turmeric in the ginger family. That bitterness is why it’s seldom used as a spice on its own; today you’ll mostly find it grated into Indian pickles, eaten as a very aromatic vegetable in Thailand and Indonesia, and used in Chinese and Japanese medicine. Its oil smells like ginger mixed with camphor, and its names get tangled up with those of its relatives.

At a glance

Flavor and the compounds behind it

Katzer calls zedoary strongly aromatic, medicinal and not very pleasant, with a rather bitter taste. PROSEA says its essential oil, about 1 to 2% of the rhizome, smells like ginger oil mixed with camphor, and lists pinene, camphene, cineole, camphor, borneol and sesquiterpenes among its components.² Katzer names a set of characteristic sesquiterpenes: germacrone and its epoxide, furanodienone, curzerenone, zederone, dehydrocurdione, curcumenol, isocurcumenol, curcumenone and the curmanolides.³ We didn’t find published percentages for these in the sources we reviewed.

You’ll often read that zedoary has a mango-like note, tied to the Hindi name amb halad (amb meaning mango). Katzer does list amb halad among its Hindi names,³ but neither he nor PROSEA describes a mango flavor, and we found no source for it.

Origin and history

Kew gives zedoary’s native range as the eastern Himalaya to Assam, and lists it as introduced across South and Southeast Asia and in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.¹ PROSEA is more cautious about its origin (“possibly in north-eastern India”) and says it’s widely grown and naturalized from South and Southeast Asia to China and Taiwan.² Florida, sometimes named as a place it now grows, isn’t on Kew’s list.

The European name comes from Arabic and Persian jadwaar or zedwar. PROSEA says the rhizomes were popular in Europe, as an article of commerce, until the Middle Ages.² Katzer writes that medieval European sources up to the 16th century often speak of dried zedoary as a spice, and that it has since fallen out of use in most cuisines.³ We couldn’t trace when it first reached Europe.

A naming tangle. PROSEA lists Curcuma zerumbet as a synonym of zedoary,² while Katzer treats C. zerumbet as a separate close relative.⁴ The Indonesian kencur (kentjur), sometimes given as zedoary’s Chinese or Indonesian name, is a different plant. Katzer identifies it as lesser galangal, Kaempferia galanga, also sold as sand ginger.⁴

How it is used

• India: pickles. Zedoary sometimes flavors pickles, with the fresh rhizome grated into the pickling mix. PROSEA adds that the leaves flavor foods in India and Indonesia.
• Thailand: a vegetable. Young rhizomes are often eaten as a very aromatic vegetable, and zedoary may go into curry pastes.
• Indonesia: shoots and flowers. The heart of young shoots is eaten as a vegetable, young rhizome tips raw, and the flower clusters cooked.
• Spice mixtures. It sometimes shows up in curry powder. The dried rhizome is seldom used on its own because of its bitterness.
• Starch. The rhizomes yield a starch called shoti, which PROSEA describes as easily digestible and valued as food, especially for infants and people with digestive complaints.² We couldn’t trace its use as a kitchen thickener in place of arrowroot.
• Perfume and liqueurs. The essential oil matters to perfumery and even more to the liquor industry, per Katzer. PROSEA notes the rhizomes are used in perfume-making in India. We couldn’t trace claims that it’s an ingredient of Swedish Bitters or that Nigerian cooks use it to color stews.

To cook with fresh zedoary, treat it like a bitter, more resinous ginger or fresh turmeric: grate it raw into pickles or relishes, or slice it thin for salads.

Buying and storage

We found no grading standard, adulteration data or storage study for zedoary. PROSEA reports yields of 7.5 to 12 tonnes per hectare and says zedoary is mainly grown and traded locally.²

Health claims

Zedoary is much used as a medicine in China and Japan. PROSEA lists traditional uses as a stimulant, stomachic, carminative, diuretic and anti-diarrheal, with a decoction drunk for stomach-ache, indigestion and colds.² A 2009 review lists traditional uses in Ayurveda and folk medicine for diarrhea, cancer, flatulence and dyspepsia, and says the supporting pharmacology comes from in-vitro and in-vivo (lab and animal) studies.⁵ We found no human clinical trials, no NIH summary and no regulator assessment. We couldn’t trace claims that zedoary aids childbirth, strengthens the uterus or treats cobra bites, and we make no treatment claims.

Substitutes and comparisons

Fresh turmeric with a little extra ginger is the closest everyday stand-in for fresh zedoary, though neither has its bitterness. Related pages:

• Turmeric · Turmeric vs. ginger · Fresh turmeric vs. powder
• Galangal · Galangal vs. turmeric · Fingerroot · Sand ginger
• Curry powder