Ever had raw turmeric before guys?

I don't know the first time I ever saw raw turmeric, but what I do know is that it wasn't in a store bought package or store. Someone was carrying it, peeling it, their hands were yellow orange like they dipped them in paint. That color doesn't come off easy, you rub and rub and there it is the next morning. I believe that's the first thing you notice about it, before even any use or smell or taste, it's just potent. The manner in which it adheres to your skin like it doesn't want to release.

Everyone keeps discussing it being great for inflammation, or digestion, or your joints or something else depending on who you ask. Some even chop it up and eat it raw like ginger. I used to attempt that, and it tasted bitter and harsh and lingered in my mouth longer than I wanted.

You feel as if you're chewing dirt. Others simply grate it on top of hot water or boil it along with other foods and have it neat, but don't overdo it or you'll be able to feel it later, either in your belly or perhaps even in your head, can't really say it but it's like your body knows that you've supplied it with something heavy.

And others apply it on their face. For rashes or pimples or dark spots or because somebody told them so. You see the yellow face and you think that they are ill but no, it is turmeric. And then they go around like that and tell you it does. I don't dispute. If it heals you, it heals you.

But the problem with raw turmeric is it makes one feel old. Like, not just old in years, but old in service, like it's been touched too many times. Not much things like that left. The powdered version sold at the shops isn't the same, no how pure they say they are. It's fine if you're cooking it, but to taste the root, the real one, you grasp the raw thing and crush it and that scent arrives in a hurry. Strong and earthy and I don't know how to describe without using strange words.

I've had some people explain to me that it has something in there which is what is supposed to make it stronger but I can never remember the name. They tell you use it with pepper or oil or milk or some combination, or else it just goes right through. I don't know how much of it is true. I just know that when I do use it, I feel like I am doing something. Even if it looks hideous and stains my fingers and doesn't work instantly. It still feels like something to have on hand.