            Recipes > Ingredient Archive > Ginger  
Knobbed and gnarled and cloaked in a dun-colored skin, the nondescript exterior of fresh ginger belies its succulent and aromatic pale-yellow flesh. Its exact origin is unclear, but ginger is believed to be native to India and China. Cultivated for millennia and used since antiquity, ginger is one of the most enduringly popular spices around the world. Marco Polo reported seeing vast ginger plantations in the 13th century in China, and there are records documenting its appearance and use in Europe as early as the 2nd century. It has a long history of use in both its fresh and dried forms, and has always been prized for its medicinal properties as well as its culinary versatility. Second to pepper, ginger was the most popular spice and most traded commodity in Europe. Ginger, also called gingerroot, is not actually a root at all, but rather a fleshy rhizome. Rhizomes are the underground stems of the ginger plant, which branch with thick, thumb-like protrusions, and indeed, the fresh roots look like a bit like hands once picked. Ginger is now commercially cultivated in nearly every tropical and subtropical country in the world, including Jamaica, Hawaii, Australia, Africa and Central America. Because of the global market, it is available in U.S. stores the year round. When harvested five months after planting, it is called young ginger (sometimes referred to as spring ginger). Young ginger is characterized by very pale and thin skin that requires no peeling. It is tender and juicy, with inconspicuous fibers, and boasts a milder flavor than mature ginger, which is what most of us know as fresh ginger. Young ginger is rarely found in mainstream grocery stores, but is worth searching out in Asian markets in the springtime. It is this crop that is used in commercially prepared candied ginger products and syrups. Mature ginger is the most common form of ginger in the market. It has a tough skin that must be peeled in order to reach the delectable flesh inside. Because mature ginger stays in the ground longer, it develops a hotter, spicier flavor from a non-volatile resin called gingerol. When shopping for fresh (mature) ginger, choose plump "hands" or roots with smooth, hard skin that have a slight sheen. Avoid wrinkled, soft skins or pieces that are very light in weight, as these are signs that the root is dry and past its prime. Select roots with the smallest number of knobs and branches as they are easiest to work with and involve the least amount of waste. If available, look for Hawaiian ginger as this desirable variety has very thin skin and an almost fiber-free flesh. Once at home, fresh unpeeled ginger can be left at room temperature in a cool location for 4 or 5 days. For longer storage, wrap in a paper towel and then refrigerate in an unsealed plastic bag for up to a month. For longer storage, keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. To use, slice off the amount you need and return the rest to the freezer. Sliced fresh ginger may also be placed in a jar, covered with dry sherry, rice wine, or vinegar and sealed with a lid; store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. Fresh ginger has a wonderful aroma in addition to its pungent piquancy and refreshing, zesty flavor. Its culinary uses are legendary, especially in Asian cuisines where its fragrance and fiery bite are at the foundation of most stir ???fry and curry dishes. Fresh ginger is nothing if not versatile—it can be grated, sliced, chopped or crushed, dried, pickled, candied or preserved. Ground ginger is an indispensable ingredient in Western baking for cakes, cookies and of course, gingerbread. It should be noted that although ground ginger is not a suitable substitute for fresh ginger, especially in dishes that require high cooking temperatures, that grated fresh root ginger can replace the dried spice in baked goods. In addition to its culinary usefulness, in some parts of the world ginger is one of the most widely consumed drugs, considered to have medicinal properties in both its fresh and dried forms. It has been estimated that in China alone, ginger is believed to be an ingredient in half of all herbal medicines. It has long been thought to allay nausea, motion sickness and migraine headaches, although definitive scientific evidence has yet to conclusively establish ginger's effectiveness. Fresh ginger is easy to prepare. It is usually peeled, either with a sharp paring knife, or with a vegetable peeler. Once shorn of its skin, ginger can be grated with a Microplane or fine (small-holed) grater, thinly sliced, minced or coarsely chopped, or pounded into a paste with a mortar and pestle. We've devised a selection of tempting ginger recipes for you to try this month, including homemade versions of ginger beer and several popular condiments, so we hope this will entice you to start experimenting with one of the world's most unique and valued ingredients.
|