Ginger (root)

[Astronuc]

Ginger (from theepicentre - ginger)

Zingiber officinale
syn: Amomum zingiber
Fam: Zingiberaceae

Ginger is native to India and China. It takes its name from the Sanskrit word stringa-vera, which means “with a body like a horn”, as in antlers. Ginger has been important in Chinese medicine for many centuries, and is mentioned in the writings of Confucius. It is also named in the Koran, the sacred book of the Moslems, indicating it was known in Arab countries as far back as 650 A.D. It was one of the earliest spice known in Western Europe, used since the ninth century. It became so popular in Europe that it was included in every table setting, like salt and pepper. A common article of medieval and Renaissance trade, it was one of the spices used against the plague. In English pubs and taverns in the nineteenth century, barkeepers put out small containers of ground ginger, for people to sprinkle into their beer — the origin of ginger ale. In order to ’gee up’ a lazy horse, it is the time honoured practice of Sussex farmers to apply a pinch of ginger to the animal’s backside..

Spice Description

Although often called “ginger root” it is actually a rhizome. It is available in various forms, the most common of which are as follows:

Whole raw roots are generally referred to as fresh ginger. A piece of the rhizome, called a ‘hand’. It has a pale yellow interior and a skin varying in colour from brown to off-white. Jamaican ginger, which is pale buff, is regarded as the best variety. African and Indian ginger is darker skinned and generally inferior, with the exception of Kenya ginger.

Whole fresh roots provide the freshest taste. The roots are collected and shipped when they are still immature, the outer skin is a light green colour. These can sometimes be found in Oriental markets.

Dried roots are sold either ‘black’ with the root skin left on, or ‘white’ with the skin peeled off. The dried root is available whole or sliced.

Powdered ginger is the buff-coloured ground spice made from dried root.
Preserved or ‘stem’ ginger is made from fresh young roots, peeled and sliced, then cooked in a heavy sugar syrup. The ginger pieces and syrup are canned together. They are soft and pulpy, but extremely hot and spicy.

Crystallized ginger is also cooked in sugar syrup, then air dried and rolled in sugar.
Pickled ginger has the root sliced paper-thin and pickled in a vinegar solution. This pickle is known in Japan as gari , which often accompanies sushi, and is served to refresh the palate between courses.

Bouquet: warm, sweet and pungent.
Flavour: Fiery and pungent
Heat Scale: 7

Preparation and Storage

In Asian cooking ginger is almost always used fresh, either minced, crushed or sliced. Fresh ginger can be kept for several weeks in the salad drawer of the refrigerator. Dried ginger should be ‘bruised’ by beating it to open the fibers, then infused in the cooking or making ginger beer and removed when the flavour is sufficient. Store dried and powdered ginger in airtight containers.

Culinary Uses

Good with meat, fish, chicken, fruit sauces and green salads. Fresh ginger is essential to Asian and oriental cookery. It is used in pickles, chutneys and curry pastes and the ground dried root is a constituent of many curry powders. Tender young ginger can be sliced and eaten as a salad. Sometimes the roots will produce green sprouts which can be finely chopped and added to a green salad. In the West, dried ginger is mainly used in cakes and biscuits, especially ginger snaps and gingerbread.

Ginger is also used in puddings, jams, preserves and in some drinks like ginger beer, ginger wine and tea. For more on cooking with ginger see Ginger - Fresh Flavour that's Packing Heat.

Attributed Medicinal Properties

Ginger is a known diaphoretic, meaning it causing one to sweat. It was recorded that Henry VIII instructed the mayor of London to use ginger’s diaphoretic qualities as a plaque medicine. It is also carminative, which means that it helps break up intestinal gas. It has been used as a remedy for congestion in the form of a compress for either the sinuses or the chest. It is often used as an adjunct to other remedies for general tonic or stimulant purposes, or to purgatives to prevent griping. Ginger has long been ascribed aphrodisiac powers, taken either internally or externally. It is mentioned in the Karma Sutra, and in the Melanesian Islands of the South Pacific it is employed ‘to gain the affection of a woman’. Conversely, in the Philippines it is chewed to expel evil spirits.

Plant Description and Cultivation

A perennial creeping plant, with thick tuberous rhizome, producing a an erect stem 30 - 100 cm (1-3 ft) tall. The lance-shaped leaves are bright green, 15 - 20 cm (6-8 in) long, with a prominent longitudinal rib, enclosing conical clusters of small yellow-green flowers marked with purple speckles. It is propagated from rhizome cuttings, planted on rich, well drained loam. It requires a tropical climate with both a heavy rain season and a hot dry season. Plants shoot in ten days and are harvested after nine to ten months.

Other names
East Indian Pepper, Jamaica Ginger, Jamaica Pepper
French: gingembre
German: Ingwer
Italian: zenzero
Spanish: jengibre
Burmese: cheung, chiang, jeung
Indian: adruk (green), ard(r)ak(h) (green), sont(h) (dried)
Indonesian: aliah
Japanese: mioga, myoga, shoga
Thai: k(h)ing (green)

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Growing Your Own Ginger

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) needs rich, well-drained, moist soil and plenty of indirect sunlight and water. It is frost-sensitive, and mostly grown in the subtropics and tropics. It will grow from a healthy piece of root planted in spring.

Make sure you get ginger roots which already have some new buds cropping out, or else they probably won't grow. The look like little fresh outcrops. I have seen some plants which have been in pots for years. The root sticks out of the soil and needs very little water, or else it will rot. You can speed the process up by planting the root to a shallow depth in a small pot, then covering the pot with a plastic bag and placing it on a sunny windowsill. When you notice the first shoots, remove the plastic bag. You can plant in the garden at this point, or leave in a pot. Place it in a location that gets indirect sunlight and give it water regularly. Given proper growing conditions, the stems will reach two to four feet tall with narrow, glossy green leaves that can get up to a foot long.

Bring the plant indoors before winter and store in a cool, dark place and ignore until spring. The foilage will die back and soil will dry out but should bounce back when returned to the outside the following spring..

Occasionally, your ginger will produce yellowish-green with a purple lip marked yellow flower, although this is rarely seen. Rhizomes may be harvested at any time, but should be allowed to grow for at least three to four months before taking your first harvest. Harvest your ginger in autumn when the leaves have died down. Ginger is usually sun-dried after harvesting to help preserve it, then stored in a well-ventilated, dry cupboard or in the fridge.
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I store fresh ginger root in the freezer and use as needed.  It will spoil if kept in a moist or humid environment.  It is great in herbal teas.  It is perhaps best if the ginger root is crushed then boiled.  Ginger beer is a great drink, if one likes really spicy beverages.