188 Spice Profiles
Region of cultivation
Ginger is native to tropical Asia, possibly India.
Today it is mainly cultivated on India’s Malabar
Coast (which produces 50 per cent of the
world’s fresh crop) and throughout tropical
and subtropical Asia, but also in parts of Africa,
Jamaica, Mexico, North America, and Peru.The plant
Ginger is a tropical,
rhizomatous flowering
plant in the same
family as turmeric and
cardamom. It grows
up to 1m (3ft) tall.Fresh
Avoid older rhizomes with
signs of shriveling, which
can mean the flesh is fibrous.Flowers consist of
cone-shaped clusters
of yellowish bracts.Shoots are a
series of tightly
overlapping
leaf basesPowder
Do not use ground
dried ginger in place
of the fresh spice, as
it has a different
flavour profile (see
Dry heat, opposite).BOTANICAL NAME
Zingiber officinaleALSO KNOWN AS
Ginger root, Canton ginger.MAJOR FLAVOUR COMPOUNDS
Gingerol, shogaol, and zingiberene.PARTS USED
Rhizomes (fleshy underground stems).METHOD OF CULTIVATION
Rhizomes are harvested 2–5 or 8–10
months after planting if they are to be
sold fresh, or are to be dried, respectively.COMMERCIAL PREPARATION
Fresh: Young rhizomes are cleaned,
sometimes bleached, and dried for
a day or two. Dried: Mature rhizomes
are peeled, dried, and ground.NON-CULINARY USES
Perfumery and cosmetics; in traditional
medicine for indigestion and nausea.CHINA JAPAN
SRI
LANKA
PHILIPPINES
INDONESIA
THAILAND
INDIA
NEPAL
BANGLADESH
GINGER
Hot | Citrusy | Woody
Ginger was one of the first Asian
spices to reach Europe, from around
the 4th century BCE, when Arab traders
transported dried and preserved ginger
to ancient Greece and Rome. The
Greeks prescribed it for stomach
complaints, and the Romans used it in
sauces and to make aromatic salt. By
the 9th century CE, dried ginger was
regarded as an everyday condiment
in Europe. By the Middle Ages it
was being widely used in savoury and
sweet cooking (notably gingerbread),
and for flavouring beer and ale. By the
13th century, ginger was being grown
in East and West Africa, and by the
16th century it was being cultivated
in Jamaica, which still has a reputation
for producing quality ginger.Spice story
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