13 Ancient Food Pairings Science Finally Caught Up With

7. Ghee (or Other Fat) + Fat‑Soluble Spices (Turmeric, Ginger)

Many traditional kitchens used a small amount of fat—ghee, oil, or butter—when cooking spices. That wasn’t only for flavor. Several beneficial plant compounds are fat‑soluble, so a bit of fat helps them dissolve and be taken up during digestion. For example, turmeric’s curcumin and certain ginger compounds are more bioavailable when taken with fat. That’s one reason haldi is often tempered in ghee or cooked into dairy‑rich sauces. Modern nutrition recognizes that very low‑fat diets can reduce absorption of these compounds, so the old habit of finishing a dish with a drizzle of ghee has both culinary and biochemical logic. Use moderate amounts of healthy fat to make spice compounds more accessible while keeping portion sizes reasonable.