Hold out your hands…I’ve got a gift for you. It’s a brown, knobbly root smelling of cool fresh earth. The papery skin feels rough against your palm; but crack off a node (that’s it…use those strong hands) and you’ll find a bright golden centre and a zesty, pungent aroma wafting up to your nose.
If you dare…pop a small piece into your mouth and bite down (warning: not for the faint hearted). It’s like a fire cracker just went off on your tongue! So spicy! The sides of your tongue zing and your whole face feels warm. It’s the scariest and most delicious moment of your life…..you’re welcome :)
Ginger is one of the most beautiful, useful and sort-after spices in the world…and it also happens to be the namesake of this newsletter.
“This medicinal and culinary plant acts as our poster girl and the literal embodiment of herbalism and nutrition (two foundational pillars of naturopathic medicine). Rooted in ancient tradition and modern culture; ginger transcends generations, ethnicity and science.” - The Ginger Journal
The Health Benefits of Ginger
Zingiber officinale (aka Ginger) has been used as food and medicine for centuries. It’s hot and spicy characteristics are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to improve pale complexion, cold extremities and a weak pulse, by warming and strengthening the body. It was historically used for ailments ranging from headaches, hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis, to gastric and respiratory disorders.
Ginger has been the focus of extensive research and analysis due to its success rate in a variety of applications. Scientific data has started to identify the specific elements that give ginger its diverse range of medicine properties.
The characteristic spicy taste and pleasant smell are due to phytochemicals1 called monoterpenes2. Gingers' hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory properties are due to the monoterpenes limonene, linalool, pinene; along with citrol which is also responsible for gingers faint lemony smell.
Gingerol is one of many phenolic3 phytochemicals found in the pungent golden oil of the rhizome, that has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-oxidant, analgesic, spasmolytic, sedative and anti-cancer actions on the body. Cooking ginger changes these gingerols to zingerone, which in turn reduces gingers pungency and enhances the spicy-sweet flavour. Dehydrating ginger changes the gingerols to shongaols, making it twice as pungent, hence why powdered ginger is more intense than fresh ginger.
Ginger is also a great source of important vitamins and minerals; namely B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium, potassium and prosperous.
With these healing and nutritive properties in mind…consider integrating ginger into your daily diet.
How to Use Ginger in Your Kitchen
If you haven’t figured it out already…we’re a little obsessed (okay… a lot!) with fermentation here at The Ginger Journal. We read and write about it as much as humanly possible. It enhances the flavour, medicinal properties and bioavailability of nutrients of all foods…especially ginger. That’s why we’ve curated a list of delicious culinary treats for you to enjoy.
Seven Ginger Recipes to Spice Up Your Diet:
Ginger bug for making homemade fermented sodas
Fermented ginger honey
How to pickle ginger
Fermented ginger carrots
Fermented hibiscus and ginger tea
Lacto-fermented mango and ginger chutney
Homemade fermented ginger beer
Zesty Recommendations
How ginger & curcumin make your supplements more effective
How to grow ginger in containers and get a huge harvest
Warning ginger massage oil
Ginger with Spice gummy bears
What is the Kitchen Community?
Question: What foods would you like to learn about in the Kitchen Community?
Chemical compounds produced by plants to ward off pests and microbes.
Volatile chemical found in essential oils that are responsible the aroma, flavour and colour of plants.
Aromatic organic compound.