Common Ginger
Zingiber officinale
Ginger family (Zingiberaceae)
A tuberous growth
Ginger is native to South Asia. The root system is a series of tuberous growths - the basics for ginger.
Fresh ginger is an every-day product in the supermarket. Dried ginger is available in two grades, black and white. The unpeeled, mature rhizomes of black ginger can be dipped into hot water and then laid out to dry. White ginger is not immersed in hot water but peeled and then laid out to dry. Ground, dried ginger is called powdered ginger or djahé.
The substances that make ginger smell and taste so wonderful are zingerone, gingerol and shagaol. Zingerone is not a constituent of fresh ginger but is formed during cooking, a process that converts gingeron into zingerone. Zingerone is less sharp and has a sweet spicy aroma.
Themes
An essential ingredient in many Asian dishes, the fresh rhizome is often used as a spice in Indian and Chinese cuisine for instance. Western cuisine, on the other hand, favours the use of the spice in dried powdered form for sweet foods, such as gingerbread. Ginger may also be preserved with sugar to make crystallised ginger, a traditional Christmas delicacy as well as popular with Asians. Ginger oil is used to flavour ginger beer and ginger ale.
Ginger is very gentle to the stomach and is used frequently for indigestion and stomach pain. It is also very effective in treating diarrhoea and nausea. The chemical substance in ginger is capable in reducing fever and infection. Besides using the juice of the rhizome or the rhizome in crushed form, leaves may also be eaten, pounded and applied as a poultice or the juice extracted from the leaves and applied externally.
Geurende bladeren en wortelstokken.
Ginger oil is a common ingredient in perfumery and cosmetics. It was even once thought that the ginger plant could act as a safeguard against marauding tigers.
Ginger is known to cause allergic reactions in some, when applied to the skin. Pregnant women should also use ginger with caution, as its safety is not confirmed.
Details
Description: | Herb, tot 1.8 m. |
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Distributions: | India to sc. china. |
Habitat: | Humid partly-shaded tropical to subtropical lowland forests. |
Year cycle: | Perennial (polycarpic decidous) |
Hardiness: | 50 - 59 f (heated glasshouse - subtropical) |
Flowering period: | Oktober |
Flower color: | White, yellow, purple |
Notes on flowers: | White to pale yellow in colour with purplish lips that have yellow dots and striations. |
Fruit color: | Red |
At its best: | Oktober |
Sources
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=287577&isprofi...,http://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=273361,
https://florafaunaweb.nparks.gov.sg/Special-Pages/plant-detail.aspx?id=2573,
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200028468