Ginger

All about Ginger

 

 

All about Ginger in the kitchen, delicacies, health and beauty… Ginger is a reed-like perennial herb whose stems, fifty centimeters to one and a half meters high, are covered with scales-like leaves. The stems end in a very decorative floral stalk, the flowers resemble green orchids, stained with purple. Ginger does not always flourish, just as flowers do not always produce fruit, which are capsules filled with seeds.

 

The rhizome, fleshy and gnarled, is the spice and allows the multiplication of ginger, vegetative reproduction. Simply plant a fresh burst of rhizome on a sunny patch, in rich soil or covered with manure and leaves, for the sprouted fragment to yield a new ginger plant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Jamaica, about nine months elapse between planting and picking. When the stems fade, the rhizomes are dug up and left to dry for a few days. They are then scraped and peeled. Once rid of the earth around them, bits of roots attached to them and their cork, they are washed and then dried again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The harvest

Depending on the destination of the ginger, the harvest takes place at different times. The ginger that will be eaten fresh or confit in the sugar is harvested earlier than the one that will be dried or extracted to obtain essential oil and oleoresin, used by the food industry and perfumery.

 

 

Ginger is a favorite in the tropics, but it is adapted to cooler or drier climates, so its cultivation has been able to develop in Ethiopia and in many parts of China, Indonesia and other countries. Asia, where there are different varieties, for example Zingiber mioga in Japan, or Zingiber zerumbet in Cambodia. Ginger is grown in East and West Africa, the Caribbean, Brazil and Australia. it is eaten fresh or dried, peeled or not, whole, in slices or powder, or cooked in a syrup of sugar, or canned, reduced in puree, or cut into slices and marinated.

 

The scars that streak the whole ginger are the traces of the aerial stems to which it was connected. This spice is sought after for its strong, tangy and lemony flavor, appreciated in both sweet and savory dishes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Different tastes

The taste of ginger is due to terpenes contained in its essential oil, mainly curcumene and zingiberol, plus linalool, « pinen » or « camphene ». The content of these aromatic constituents differs according to the varieties and regions of production: thus, Bengal ginger is considered to have the finest flavor of all Indian gingers.

 

 

 

 

 

Australian ginger is very spicy. The ginger of West Africa is very camphorated. The ginger, whose name comes from Sanskrit, was already known to the Greeks who imported the rzhizome from the East long before « Dioscoride » discovered the medicinal properties and mentioned its sale in Italy, in candied form. Widely used in France until the late eighteenth century, it was used in the making of gingerbread and played a key role in the manufacture of the ancestor of the nougat, the pignolat.

 

Ginger helps manage diabetes by stimulating the production of insulin. We tell you more about ginger’s ability to manage this lifestyle condition naturally and how to use it in your daily diet. (Faim d’épices, Marrakesh)

 

Now ignored by the French, it is still appreciated in England and Germany, in the form of condiment and herbs, in jam and in the manufacture of « ginger beer » or « ginger ale ». We make delicious teas by adding the fresh root. In India, green ginger is eaten as a starter. Very aromatic and slightly peppery, the ginger, contrary to some received ideas, is not very spicy it only warms pleasantly the palate.

 

Fresh Ginger

 

Using it fresh, cut into thin strips, is certainly the most interesting. Beliefs and nutritional and medicinal values. Rich in potassium, ginger is frequently used by Chinese and Indian medicines. it is particularly known for lowering cholesterol levels as well as for its antiemetic properties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for its aphrodisiac virtues, they would come, according to some authors, from its vasodilating action. The Chinese exploit its virtues by serving it confit, at the end of the meal, to fight the somnolences digestive. You can discover all these spices during your cooking class at our premises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All about Ginger… Etymology

 

The English origin of the word, « ginger », is from the mid-14th century, from Old English gingifer, from Medieval Latin gingiber, from Greek zingiberis, from Prakrit (Middle Indic) singabera, from Sanskrit srngaveram, from srngam « horn » and vera– « body », from the shape of its root. The word probably was readopted in Middle English from Old French gingibre (modern French gingembre).

 

 

And now…

(Click on the photo…)

 

How to make Ginger tea from fresh ginger root.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All bout Ginger for gourmets…

 

Chicken with Ginger and Pineapple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soy Ginger Salmon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ginger Beef Stir Fry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pumpkin-Ginger Oat Scones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All about Ginger for gourmands…

 

The Ultimate Ginger Crunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apple Ginger Cake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wanan with Candied Ginger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ginger Snaps with Brandy Cream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other useful links…

 

 

Ground Ginger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suger Ginger-Coco.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ginger Drops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ringtons Hand Baked Ginger Snaps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ginger Honey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All about Ginger for your Beauty…

 

Ginger Body Yogurt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All about Ginger is also…

 

How To Peel Ginger! (Vidéo here)

 

Why to adopt a Ginger Cat? (Video here)

 

Ginger Baker (Peter Edward Baker, aka Ginger Baker, born August 19, 1939 in Lewisham and died October 6, 2019 in Canterbury, is a British drummer, famous for having been a member of the power trio Cream from 1966 to 1968 with Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton.) Wikipedia

 

Ginger on Wikipedia UK

Gimgembre sur Wikipedia FR