A perennial reed-like plant, it has thick, branching rhizomes and grows 1-1.2 m (3-4 ft.) tall, with bright-green, lance late, alternately arranged leaves, on short, sheathed stems. The yellow-green flowers are borne in dense cones on separate stalks from the leaves.
History and traditions
Ginger has been known in China and India since earliest times, valued for its medicinal properties and as a potent culinary flavoring. It was imported by the Greeks and Romans from the East, by way of the Red Sea, and its names in Greek, zingiberis, and Latin, zingiber, are derived from the Sanskrit, singabera. During the middle Ages it was an important trading commodity, appearing on import-duty tariffs at European ports from 1170 onwards. It was known in Britain at this time and is frequently referred to in Anglo-Saxon leech-books, and in the 13th and 14th centuries it was second only to pepper as an imported spice. At the start of the 16th century, ginger was taken by the Spaniards from the East Indies to the Americas and West Indies, where it soon became established and was exported to Europe in large quantities as early as 1547. Ginger is one of the most popular culinary flavorings worldwide today. It is an important ingredient in both Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, known in the latter as maha-aushadi, “the great medicine”, and has an eastern tradition as an aphrodisiac, probably because it stimulates circulation and increases blood flow.
Growth
A tender, tropical plant, grown in fertile, humus-rich, well-drained soil with plenty of moisture and humidity. It is usually treated as an annual crop. Propagated by division.
Parts used
Rhizomes fresh, or dried, whole or ground.
Uses
Medicinal
Ginger has antiseptic, expectorant properties, promotes sweating and is taken in decoctions for colds, chills and feverish infections. It is taken in tablet form or as a tincture for nausea, travel sickness, in-digestion, stomach upsets and menstrual pain, and is said to be safe in small doses for morning sickness during pregnancy. The essential oil is taken in drops on sugar lumps for fevers, nausea and digestive upsets, and added to massage oil to ease rheumatic pain and aching joints.
Culinary
Fresh ginger is grated and added to stir-fry dishes, and widely used, fresh or dried, in Chinese and Thai cuisines. Dried ground ginger is an ingredient of curry powder, pickles and chutneys and used in Western cookery in biscuits, cakes and desserts. Whole fresh ginger is crystallized in sugar syrup and made into chocolates and confectionery.
Aromatic
The essential oil is used in perfumery and as a flavoring in the food industry.
