Ginger
Ginger: The word "Ginger" comes from the Sanskrit "singabera", which literally means: horn-shaped; it came to us via the Greek "zingiberis" then the Latin "zingiber". There is another hypothesis about the name: ginger was very widespread in the mountains of the Gingi country (west of Pondichery), hence its name...
The fresh rhizome, or green ginger, has a lemony note which fades as it is dried, only the sharpness remains. That is why it is recommended to use it fresh, especially as it is very easy to store. The rhizome can be prepared in various ways: dry, powdered, pickled (a tasty condiment used in oriental food, especially Japanese), preserved, sugared...
But, very rarely, other parts of the plant are used: leaves and shoots (succulent and full of flavour, they grow spontaneously on the old rhizomes!)
History
It is thought to come from India or China, without any real certainty. Confucius mentioned it in 500 BC. " " It is not the root of the pepper, as some thought, which bears the name of zimpiberi or, according to others, zingiberi, even though the flavour is the same, as ginger grows in Arabia and in the land of the Troglodytes, next to the houses. It is a white root of a small plant. This rather bitter root rots rapidly and is sold six deniers the pound" Pliny the Elder
It was introduced in Greece and in the Roman Empire by Arab merchants via the trade routes of the Red Sea and it spread across Europe in the first century. From the eleventh century, it became known in England . In the thirteenth century, Arabs brought it to Eastern Africa and the Portuguese to Western Africa. It was the most widely used spice in Europe after pepper. At the same time, Christopher Columbus discovered the source of ginger: China, but ginger as pepper remained a very expensive spice for a long time. In the fourteenth century, ginger was still the most popular spice, after pepper, and it arrived very rapidly in the Americas with Frederico de Mendoza, and liked it there:
""Ginger was brought from India to the island of Hispaniola and thrived there so successfully that no-one knows what to do with it. In 1587 the fleet took 22,053 quintals of it back to Seville" Extract from The Natural and moral history of the West Indies (1589) by Joseph de Acosta.
Beliefs
- aphrodisiac (Pliny, Avicenna,...)
- In the Orient, it was chewed to protect against evil spirits
- an anti-poison according to Dioscorid, a first century Greek doctor
Virtues
Ginger is the panacea of Asian medicine, it cures practically everything:
- Digestive: facilitates digestion, warms the stomach, strips macerated in lime juice are used as a digestive in Burma.
- Carminative
- Anti-bacterial, antiseptic
- Stimulant, fortifying
- relieves circulatory problems, reduces the cholesterol rate
- aphrodisiac
- improves sight,
- drunk as tea for coughs, flu and various sore throats
- recommended for women having given birth
- calms car and sea sickness
- against headaches
Tips and tricks
- in powder, stored away from humidity
- a pinch enhances fruit that are not ripe enough (fruit salad)
- Young shoots on the rhizome are even more sweet-tasting than the rhizome itself
- Choosing the fresh rhizome: firm, not mouldy, fine skin
- Used to flavour a dessert syrup or for unpressed tofu. Cook a few slices of peeled ginger in a syrup and boil for a quarter of an hour after bringing to boiling point (with more ginger if you like it strong). The syrup will then take a colour similar to light tea. The power of ginger and the sugar will make the delicious syrup; served with tofu, this dessert is a must (especially when you make the tofu yourself) in traditional Chinese cookery
Composition
- 85% water (more than 9 to 10% sec)
- 10% carbohydrate (mostly starch)
- 1.8% protein
- 1.5% fat (mainly in the essential oil)
- >1% fibres (cellulose, hemicellulose)
- 0.6 kcalories/g
- vitamins mg/g
- B1: 0.0005, B2: 0.002, B3: 0.052
- C (ascorbic acid): 0.35mg/g
- 0.8% minerals (mg/g): K (11.26), P (1.44), Ca (0.43), Mg (1.57), Na (0.33), Fe (0.14), Cu (0.004)
- 1 to 3% of fresh rhizome essential oil
- 70% L-(-) Zingiberene
- d-camphene, phellandrene, borneol, cineol, citral, ar-curcumene and farnesene
- resin / sharp principle:
- gingeroles, shoagoles, zingerone, zingiberone (anti-nauseous action)
The plant
Zingiber officinale Roscoe
Zingibéracée family
tropical herbaceous hardy plant growing up to 3 m tall
Slender, long leaves
Green-yellow flowers, violet lips dotted and striped with yellow
Reproduction by fragmentation of the rhizome,
Knotted and fragrant rhizomes, pale beige skin, juicy and flavoursome, becomes fibrous with age
Harvest after 9 to 10 months (by hand in many countries), the largest share of production is washed, dried and reduced into powder
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