How to cook ginger
Information for ginger in our free cooking ingredients collection.
Ginger
Ginger is a tropical Asian herb grown for its pungent and spicy aromatic roots. Gingerroot is peppery and slightly sweet. Its light-brown skin covers a firm flesh that ranges from greenish yellow to ivory.
Family - Zingiberaceae
Scientific name - Zingiber officinale
Common name - Jamaican ginger, African ginger, Cochin or Asian ginger
Ginger is not a significant source of nutrients
Varieties
Several hundred varieties of ginger exist. In addition, fresh gingerroot may be young or mature. Spring ginger, as young ginger is sometimes called, has a pale, thin skin that does not require peeling. Young ginger is delicate and milder than mature ginger.
Origin and botanical facts
Ginger is believed to be native to South China or India, where it has been cultivated since ancient times. The earliest recorded mention of ginger appears in Chinese writings. According to the Pen Tsao Ching (Classics of Herbs), written by Shen Nung around 3000 B.C., ginger “eliminates body odor and puts a person in touch with the spiritual realm”. In ancient India, ginger was believed to cleanse the body spiritually. Ginger also was used to preserve food and treat digestive problems. As in India, the ancient Greeks used ginger for digestive problems by eating ginger wrapped in bread after large meals. Eventually, ginger was added to the bread dough, and the product became known as gingerbread. The Romans also used ginger as a digestive aid. Arab traders introduced ginger to the Mediterranean area, and in the 16th century, Francisco de Mendoza of Spain brought it to the West Indies. In England and Colonial America, ginger was made into ginger beer, a popular home remedy for diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting and a precursor to today’s ginger ale.
Ginger thrives in the tropics and in warmer regions of the temperate zone. Currently, the herb is grown in several regions of West Africa and the West Indies, and in India and China. The plant reaches maturity in the late summer when the foliage begins to turn yellow. However, the root can be harvested at any stage simply by digging it up. The finest quality ginger comes from Jamaica, where production is most abundant. In the United States, ginger is grown in Florida, Hawaii, and along the east coast of Texas.
How to cook ginger
Ginger is a popular ingredient in Asian cooking, for which it has been used for centuries in both its fresh and dried forms. Fresh ginger can be shredded, grated, finely minced, or sliced and used in curries and stir-fried dishes. When buying fresh ginger, choose roots that have a firm, smooth skin with a fresh, spicy smell. Fresh unpeeled ginger can be tightly wrapped in a paper towel and plastic wrap or placed in a sealed plastic bag and refrigerated up to 2 weeks or frozen for 6 months. Powdered, dried ginger, which has a more spicy, intense flavor, is used for making gingerbread, gingersnaps, and other spice cookies. Ginger also is available in crystallized or candied form, preserved, and pickled. Dried powdered ginger should not be substituted for fresh or crystallized ginger in recipes, because it will not provide the same flavor.
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