This is the last of a series of six e-mails on the spices that drove the Age of Discovery. Before reading this e-mail, I recommend that you read the e-mail of 9 Oct 2015, which provides useful background.
The Plant
The ginger plant, Zingiber officinale, is in the ginger family. Zingiberaceae. Turmeric and Cardamon are other spices in this family. Ginger has been cultivated so long that it is no longer found in the wild state [Turner, p. xxiii].
The ginger plant is three or four feet tall with yellow flowers. Here are some pictures.
- Ginger farm
- Drawing of the entire plant.
- The linear leaves (two pictures).
- Flower bud.
- Close-up of a flower.
- A detail from the drawing that shows a close-up of the flower.
We will not pause over the leaves, flower, or fruit since this plant's importance lies in a botanical structure that has not yet been discussed in these e-mails, namely the rhizome. We are used to thinking of plants as having shoots above ground and roots below ground. There is no reason, however, why a plant should not have a shoot below ground, and such an underground shoot is a rhizome (also called a rootstock or a creeping rootstalk); see the pictures below. Why we focus on the rhizome rather than the other plant parts is that it is the rhizome that yields the spice ginger. For an extended discussion of rhizomes, see the appendix.
The ginger plant is a perennial, but it is usually grown as an annual; harvest is at the latest 10-12 months after planting [Valenzuela, pp. 2, 6]. The quality of the rhizome declines if harvesting is delayed [Valenzuela, p. 3]. The plant is propagated from portions of the rhizome; a farmer will usually save 5-10 percent of the rhizome to use as seed for the next crop [Valenzuela, pp. 2, 4, 7]. The flowers are usually sterile and seldom set seed [Valenzuela, pp. 2, 4]; this is a consequence of this plant having been long domesticated
About 25 percent shade is optimum for the ginger plant, and it is often planted among betelnut palms, coconut palms, and fruit trees [Valenzuela, p. 3].
Worldwide more than 25 cultivars of ginger are grown, and they differ in flavor, aroma, and pungency [Valenzuela, p. 4].
There is a plant called wild ginger with an exotic-looking, three-petaled, brownish purple flower that grows at the base of the plant (see picture below). I have seen this flower in Western Massachusetts where the underlying bedrock is limestone. This plant is in the Aristolochiaceae, the birthwort family, and is not closely related to the plant that produces the spice ginger. The root of wild ginger has a ginger-like odor, and reputable authorities claim that its root can be used as a ginger substitute [Niering, p. 249, Fernald and Kinsey, p. 167]. Before you experiment with it, however, be aware that wild ginger contains aristolochic acid; the FDA has advised "...consumers to immediately discontinue use of any botanical products containing aristolochic acid. The FDA explains the rationale for this advice:
Consumption of products containing aristolochic acid has been associated with permanent kidney damage, sometimes resulting in kidney failure that has required kidney dialysis or kidney transplantation. In addition, some patients have developed certain types of cancers, most often occurring in the urinary tract.
If you are wondering whether some of the traditional Chinese medicine that you are taking contains aristolochic acid, you can consult this FDA report. This is another lesson that natural does not necessarily mean healthy.
History
Ginger is indigenous to South China, but its cultivation has now spread around the world [Valenzuela, p. 3]. India was the main source of ginger for Europeans in ancient, medieval, and early modern times, and India is currently the largest producer of ginger.
Ginger reached Europe in the first century A.D. via the spice trade route that went through India [Valenzuela, p. 3]. According to one site:
Ginger was one of the earliest spices known in Western Europe, used since the ninth century. It became so popular in Europe that it was included in every table setting, like salt and pepper. A common article of medieval and Renaissance trade, it was one of the spices used against the plague. In English pubs and taverns in the nineteenth century, barkeepers put out small containers of ground ginger, for people to sprinkle into their beer — the origin of ginger ale.
In Galenic medicine, which ruled for about a millenium and a half, including all the Medieval period, foods were graded along the four fundamental dimensions of hot, cold, dry, and wet [Turner, p. 164]. According to this theory, it was the hot and wet that promoted sexual performance [Turner, p. 191], and ginger (along with galangal) was the only spice that was hot and wet [Turner, p. 166n]. As Turner notes [p. 192] of Medieval Europe, "Because of ginger's rare hot-wet classification, it was the most sought after of all the spices."
In the 11th century in the Benedictine monastery at Hirsau in Wurttemberg, the strict rule was perpetual silence (with an exception made for confessions). According to Blessed William, abbot of the monastery,when one of the monks wanted ginger, he could ask for it in sign language:
For the sign of ginger, ... with your right hand clenched in a fist, raised up high, moving it round in a circle around your jaw; keep moving it around your jaw; then stick out your tongue, and lick your index finger. [quoted in Turner, p. 277]
In the 14th century the Chinese would grow ginger in wooden boxes aboard ship during long ocean voyages to combat scurvy [Keay, p. 19, Turner, p. xxiii]. Europeans did not have a recognized way to prevent scurvy until Captain Cook's voyages in the 18th century (though there is, as always, controversy).
The Spice
Valenzuela [p. 7] describes the criteria that determine when ginger should be harvested:
...ginger is harvested at various stages, depending on the product that is desired. The early harvest from 5-6 months after planting, yields tender rhizomes with less fiber for use as candied products. The second harvest about two months later when plants are about 85% of their maximum size, yields rhizomes with the highest content of essential oils and oleoresins, used for the preparation of dehydrated products. The fully mature rhizomes obtained at the last harvest are used for drying and for grinding to produce powdered ginger.
"Young ginger" is the term applied to the ginger harvested after 5-6 months. Since the rhizome accumulates mass faster toward the end of its life, there is a sacrifice in harvesting early. Typical yields per plant are 1-3 kg for young ginger and 2-7 kg when fully mature [Valenzuela, p. 9].
Once harvested, the ginger must be processed to prevent prevent sprouting and otherwise prepare it for sale, as described by Valenzuela [p. 7]:
After harvest, rhizomes are cleaned of soil and debris using water sprayed at high pressure. The rhizomes may also be cleaned with a soft brush or coconut fiber, and are then air-dried on screen racks. To allow all the exposed tissues to heal and become firm, the rhizomes are normally allowed to air cure under well ventilated conditions for a period of 3-5 days. Once cured, the rhizomes are graded and packed for shipping.
You will often see these raw looking, stag-horn shaped rhizomes for sale in grocery stores, especially in Chinatown; see the picture below. The rhizome is often called a hand, and the protrusions are called fingers. You can grind off a little bit yourself as you need it, or you can buy it pre-ground. The rate at which ginger loses its potency increases when it is cut, so it pays to purchase a hand and to practice just-in-time grinding. Shelf-life for a rhizome is about six months if you store it under ideal conditions of temperatures 12-13 degrees C and 85 percent relative humidity. Storing at normal refrigerator temperature, which is maybe 3-4 degrees C, will result in tissue softening, skin discoloration, and decay [Valenzuela, p. 8]. Since you probably don't have a device that will hold the temperature at 12-13 degrees C, storing a rhizome will present a problem.
As for the use of this spice, Wikipedia has a good summary.
Ginger produces a hot, fragrant kitchen spice. Young ginger rhizomes are juicy and fleshy with a very mild taste. They are often pickled in vinegar or sherry as a snack or cooked as an ingredient in many dishes. They can be steeped in boiling water to make ginger tea, to which honey is often added; sliced orange or lemon fruit may be added. Ginger can be made into candy, or ginger wine, which has been made commercially since 1740.
Mature ginger rhizomes are fibrous and nearly dry. The juice from ginger roots is often used as a spice in Indian recipes and is a common ingredient of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, and many South Asian cuisines for flavoring dishes such as seafood, meat, and vegetarian dishes.
Fresh ginger can be substituted for ground ginger at a ratio of six to one, although the flavors of fresh and dried ginger are somewhat different. Powdered dry ginger root is typically used as a flavoring for recipes such as gingerbread, cookies, crackers and cakes, ginger ale, and ginger beer.
Candied ginger, or crystallized ginger, is the root cooked in sugar until soft, and is a type of confectionery.
Fresh ginger may be peeled before eating. For longer-term storage, the ginger can be placed in a plastic bag and refrigerated or frozen. [Links and a footnote omitted.]
(Counterpoint: According to this site, dried ginger and fresh ginger taste different and cannot be substituted in recipes. In regions where fresh ginger is available, dried ginger is not widely used.)
In the spice-conscious Middle Ages, half a dozen different varieties and grades of ginger were recognized [Krondl, pp. 70-71]. See this site for the distinctions currently drawn among fresh ginger, powdered ginger, ginger flakes, preserved (or stem) ginger, crystallized ginger, pickled ginger, ginger juice, and ginger beer.
Ginger is used in a wide variety of specialized products. Below are pictures of two, ginger glazed macadamia nuts and ginger syrup.
Numerous different uses of ginger are made in the various cuisines of the world. See Wikipedia if you are interested. In brief, in the East, ginger is a staple and is usually fresh, while ginger receives relatively minor use in the U.S. and is usually dried [Bown, p. 18]. It's fair to say that in the West ginger has largely fallen out of cookbooks. In short, the West is ripe to rediscover ginger.
Miscellany
Since ginger is on the FDA's "generally recognized as safe" list, for the most part you don't need to be careful about eating ginger unless you take the drug Warfarin, with which ginger interacts. For more on the health effects of ginger, see this NIH site.
Testing has not been able to confirm or refute the claim that ginger can slow the growth of tumors.
"For over 5000 years ginger was revered as the 'universal medicine' by the ancient Orientals of China and India and highly sought after by spice traders," according to this site.
Since ginger is the least fussy of the spices and easy to grow, ginger is a good plant for a home garden as long as you do not get a frost heavy enough to freeze the rhizome [Turner, p. xxiii, Valenzuela, p. 8]. Go to this site if you want tips on how to grow ginger at home. If you want to turn this into a retirement activity, you can expect to earn $7500 per acre, at least if you live in Hawaii [Valenzuela, p. 12]; undertake this only if you are a plunger, however, since this crop bears a high degree of risk due to price volatility and the chance of crop loss due to disease [Valenzuela, p. 12].
If you like your tea spicy, make ginger tea by soaking slices of fresh ginger in black tea for a few minutes.
Ginger ale is made from plant extract, sugar, and carbonated water.
Ginger has a place in the history of animal abuse, according to this site.
In animal husbandry it was used in order to 'gee up' a lazy horse, it is the time honoured practice of Figging - To treat a horse in such a way as to make the animal appear lively, as by putting a piece of ginger into the anus. Because Ginger is an irritant, the animal will act more lively and carry it's tail high, a favourable trait with Arabs and other highly spirited breeds of show horse. This treatment is outlawed by Equestrian organisations and today is considered as animal abuse.
The party and travel tips appear after the appendix; they only make sense if you read the appendix. Everyone should read the appendix since it contains material of interest. This material is placed in an appendix so that it doesn't interrupt the discussion of ginger.
Last Word on Spices
This ends the series of six e-mails on the classic spices of the Age of Discovery. Here is a final reminder of the six spices, with their main geographic source in the 16th century and the part of the plant that yields the spice in parentheses.
- Pepper (India, unripe fruit)
- Nutmeg and mace (Banda Islands, kernel and covering of the seed, respectively)
- Cloves (Molucca Islands, unopened flower bud)
- Cinnamon (Ceylon, inner bark)
- Ginger (India, rhizome, i.e., an underground shoot used as a storage organ)
Rick
(Continued in Part 2)
