Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of leaves) about one meter tall, bearing narrow leaf blades. The inflorescences bear flowers having pale yellow petals with purple edges, and arise directly from the rhizome on separate shoots.
Ginger is in the family Zingiberaceae, which also includes turmeric (Curcuma longa), cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), and galangal. Ginger originated in Maritime Southeast Asia and was likely domesticated first by the Austronesian peoples. It was transported with them throughout the Indo-Pacific during the Austronesian expansion (), reaching as far as Hawaii. Ginger is one of the first spices to have been exported from Asia, arriving in Europe with the spice trade, and was used by ancient Greeks and Romans. from the Prakrit (Middle Indic) , and from the Sanskrit . The Sanskrit word is thought to come from an ancient Dravidian word that also produced the Tamil and Malayalam term (from , "root"); The word probably was readopted in Middle English from the Old French (modern French ).
Origin and distribution
thumb|Ginger flower
Ginger originated in Maritime Southeast Asia. It is a true cultigen and does not exist in its wild state.
Ginger was carried with them in their voyages as canoe plants during the Austronesian expansion, starting from around 5,000 BP. They introduced it to the Pacific Islands in prehistory, long before any contact with other civilizations. Reflexes of the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian word *<!--Proto-Malayo-Polynesian--> are found in Austronesian languages all the way to Hawaii. It was also carried by Austronesian voyagers into Madagascar and the Comoros in the 1st millennium CE.
From India, it was carried by traders into the Middle East and the Mediterranean by around the 1st century CE. It was primarily grown in southern India and the Greater Sunda Islands during the spice trade, along with peppers, cloves, and numerous other spices.
History
The first written record of ginger comes from the Analects, written by the Disciples of Confucius in China during the Warring States period (475–221 BCE). In it, Confucius was said to eat ginger with every meal. Raw and preserved ginger were imported into Europe in increased quantity during the Middle Ages after European tastes shifted favorably towards its culinary properties; during this time, ginger was described in the official pharmacopeias of several countries. In 14th century England, a pound of ginger cost as much as a sheep.
The ginger plant was smuggled onto the Caribbean islands from Asia sometime in the 16th century, along with black pepper, cloves, and cinnamon, at the encouragement of the Spanish Crown, though only ginger thrived. It eventually displaced sugar to become the leading export crop on both Hispaniola and Puerto Rico by the end of the century, until the introduction of slave labour from Africa made sugar more economical to produce in the 17th century.
Horticulture
Ginger produces clusters of white and pink flower buds that bloom into yellow flowers. Because of its aesthetic appeal and the adaptation of the plant to warm climates, it is often used as landscaping around subtropical homes. It is a perennial reed-like plant with annual leafy stems, about a meter (3 to 4 feet) tall. Traditionally, the rhizome is gathered when the stalk withers; it is immediately scalded, or washed and scraped, to kill it and prevent sprouting. The fragrant perisperm of the Zingiberaceae is used as sweetmeats by Bantu, and also as a condiment and sialogogue.
Production
{| class="wikitable floatright col2right"
|+ Raw ginger production <br />
|-
| || 2,201,000
|-
| || 781,641
|-
| || 672,914
|-
| || 309,533
|-
| || 198,873
|-
| || 174,103
|-
|World || 4,877,179
|-
|colspan=2|
|}
In 2023, world production of raw ginger was 4.9 million tonnes, led by India with 45% of the total, and Nigeria and China as secondary producers. India holds the seventh position in ginger export worldwide, however is the "largest producer of ginger in the world".
Ginger has the ability to grow in a wide variety of land types and areas, however is best produced when grown in a warm, humid environment, at an elevation between , and in well-drained soils at least 30 cm deep. A period of low rainfall prior to growing and well-distributed rainfall during growing are also essential for the ginger to thrive well in the soil.
Ginger produced in India is most often farmed through homestead farming, with work adaptively shared by available family and community members.
Ginger farming
thumb|Ginger field
The size of the ginger rhizome is essential to the production of ginger. The larger the rhizome piece, the faster ginger will be produced and therefore the faster it will be sold onto the market. Prior to planting the seed rhizomes, farmers are required to treat the seeds to prevent pests, and rhizome rot and other seed-borne diseases. Mulching is done by applying mulch (green leaves for example) to the plant beds directly after planting and again 45 and 90 days into growth. Ginger rhizomes for dry ginger are harvested at full maturity (8–10 months). Fresh ginger does not need further processing after harvest, and it is harvested much younger. Ginger can be used for a variety of food items such as vegetables, candy, soda, pickles, and alcoholic beverages. Young ginger rhizomes are juicy and fleshy with a 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 herb tea, to which honey may be added. Ginger can be made into candy or ginger wine.
Asia
Mature ginger rhizomes are fibrous and nearly dry. The juice from ginger roots is often used as a seasoning 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.
thumb|Two varieties of ginger in China
In Indian cuisine, ginger is a key ingredient, especially in thicker gravies, as well as in many other dishes, both vegetarian and meat-based. Ginger has a role in traditional Ayurvedic medicine. It is an ingredient in traditional Indian drinks, both cold and hot, including spiced masala chai. Fresh ginger is one of the main spices used for making pulse and lentil curries and other vegetable preparations. Fresh ginger together with peeled garlic cloves is crushed or ground to form ginger garlic masala. Fresh, as well as dried, ginger is used to spice tea and coffee, especially in winter. In south India, "sambharam" is a summer yogurt drink made with ginger as a key ingredient, along with green chillies, salt and curry leaves. Ginger powder is used in food preparations intended primarily for pregnant or nursing women, the most popular one being katlu, which is a mixture of gum resin, ghee, nuts, and sugar. Ginger is also consumed in candied and pickled form. In Japan, ginger is pickled to make beni shōga and gari or grated and used raw on tofu or noodles. It is made into a candy called shoga no sato zuke. In the traditional Korean kimchi, ginger is either finely minced or just juiced to avoid the fibrous texture and added to the ingredients of the spicy paste just before the fermenting process.
thumb|upright|A Chinese dish with ginger slices. It shows the typical amount of ginger consumed each meal.
In Myanmar, ginger is called gyin. It is widely used in cooking and as a main ingredient in traditional medicines. It is consumed as a salad dish called gyin-thot, which consists of shredded ginger preserved in oil, with a variety of nuts and seeds. In Thailand where it is called ขิง khing, it is used to make a ginger garlic paste in cooking. In Indonesia, a beverage called wedang jahe is made from ginger and palm sugar. Indonesians also use ground ginger root, called jahe, as a common ingredient in local recipes. In Malaysia, ginger is called halia and used in many kinds of dishes, especially soups. Called luya in the Philippines, ginger is a common ingredient in local dishes and is brewed as a tea called salabat. In Vietnam, the fresh leaves, finely chopped, can be added to shrimp-and-yam soup (canh khoai mỡ) as a top garnish and spice to add a much subtler flavor of ginger than the chopped root. In China, sliced or whole ginger root is often paired with savory dishes such as fish, and chopped ginger root is commonly paired with meat, when it is cooked. Candied ginger is sometimes a component of Chinese candy boxes, and a herbal tea can be prepared from ginger. Raw ginger juice can be used to set milk and make a dessert, ginger milk curd.
North America
In the Caribbean, ginger is a popular spice for cooking and for making drinks such as sorrel, a drink made during the Christmas season. Jamaicans make ginger beer both as a carbonated beverage and also fresh in their homes. Ginger tea is often made from fresh ginger, as well as the famous regional specialty Jamaican ginger cake.
Western countries
thumb|[[Gingerbread man and his wife with a gingerbread house]]
In Western cuisine, ginger is traditionally used mainly in sweet foods such as ginger ale, gingerbread, ginger snaps, parkin, and speculaas. A ginger-flavored liqueur called Canton is produced in Jarnac, France. Ginger wine is a ginger-flavoured wine produced in the United Kingdom, traditionally sold in a green glass bottle. Ginger is also used as a spice added to hot coffee and tea. On the island of Corfu, Greece, a traditional drink called τσιτσιμπύρα (tsitsibira), a type of ginger beer, is made. The people of Corfu and the rest of the Ionian islands adopted the drink from the British, during the period of the United States of the Ionian Islands.
Fresh ginger can be substituted for ground ginger at a ratio of six to one, although the flavours of fresh and dried ginger are somewhat different. Powdered dry ginger root is typically used as a flavouring for recipes such as gingerbread, cookies, crackers and cakes, ginger ale, and ginger beer. Candied or crystallized ginger, known in the UK as "stem 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.
Middle East
Ginger is used in Iranian cuisine. Ginger bread is a kind of cookie traditionally prepared in the city of Gorgan on the holiday of Nowruz (New Year's Day).
Similar ingredients
Other members of the family Zingiberaceae are used in similar ways. They include the myoga (Zingiber mioga), the several types of galangal, the fingerroot (Boesenbergia rotunda), and the bitter ginger (Zingiber zerumbet).
A dicotyledonous native species of eastern North America, Asarum canadense, is also known as "wild ginger", and its root has similar aromatic properties, but it is not related to true ginger. The plant contains aristolochic acid, a carcinogenic compound. The United States Food and Drug Administration warns that consumption of aristolochic acid-containing products is 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." It is on the FDA's "generally recognized as safe" list, though it does interact with some medications, including the anticoagulant drug warfarin and the cardiovascular drug nifedipine. Some 400 chemical compounds exist in raw ginger.
Research
Evidence that ginger use is associated with reduced nausea during pregnancy is of low quality. There is no good evidence ginger helps alleviate chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.
There is no clear evidence that taking ginger to treat nausea during pregnancy is safe. Ginger is not effective for treating dysmenorrhea. There is some evidence for it having an anti-inflammatory effect, but insufficient evidence for it affecting pain in osteoarthritis. There is no good evidence that ginger affects platelet aggregation and blood clotting.
A 2018 review found evidence that ginger could decrease body weight in obese subjects and increase HDL-cholesterol.
Adverse effects
Although generally recognized as safe, ginger can cause heartburn and other side effects, particularly if taken in powdered form.