What is ginger?
Ginger is a special kind of spice root crop with a hot and fragrant aroma. Gingers are made from the rhizomes (modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes) of the ginger plant that is cultivated mainly in southeast asia. To describe this kind of rhizome, it has a tough skin with yellow flesh when peeled.
Where is ginger grown?
Ginger originates in South-East Asia and China. During the spice trade, Ginger made its way to Africa and the Americas.
How is ginger consumed?
Ginger can be used as Juice, or it can be used for stir-fries, whisked into salad dressings, stirred into kimchi or pickled carrots, tossed into salads, or mixed into soups and stews. Ginger can also be candied, steeped with sugar and water to make a simple syrup that can be used in granitas and sorbets, or used to flavor cocktails, wine, and kombucha.
How many types of ginger are there, where are they grown and what are their characteristics?
Within the Zingiberaceae family, there are 2 popular edible ginger subfamilies. Namely, Curcuma (also known as Turmeric) and Zingiber (ginger).
Within the Zingiber subfamily, there are Yellow Ginger which has a bitter taste and is typically used in tea as a home remedy against stomach aches.
There is White Ginger which is used as a spice in some recipes, white ginger is also used in the medicinal field as it can treat several illnesses such as sore throat and tonsillitis.
There is Spring Ginger: This is basically the young version of a matured ginger. Spring ginger has a similar hand-like shape of a matured ginger but its rhizome is tougher and more fibrous. The rhizomes can also be plumpy and juicy with a blush of pink. You can use this ginger on recipes with strong odor as it could help in neutralizing or eliminating those unpleasant tastes. It can also be used in panna cotta or make into a ginger ale.
Culinary Ginger is the main edible ginger, which is used in our Ginger beer.
Lastly, there is Blue Hawaiian Ginger.
