Ginger

Botanical Name : Zingiber officinale
Europa : English : ginger, German : Ingwer, Spanish: jengibre, Portuguese : Gengibre, Italian : zenzero, Dutch : Gember, Russian : Imbir
Asia : Sanskrit : Adraka (fresh), Shunthi (dried), Shringaveran, Sringaaran, Hindi : Adi, Adrak (fresh), Sonth (dried), Sinhala : Inguru, Malay : halia, Indonesian : Jahé, Aliah, Thai : khing, Kinkh, Chinese : Jeung, Sang keong, San geung, Chiang, Jiang, Keong, Vietnamese :gung, Japanese : Shoga, Myoga.
The word "ginger" comes from the Sanskrit " singabera ", in the shape of horn, allusion to the shape of its young plants when they go out of the rhizome. Greeks called it "ziggiberis" Romain " zingiberi ".
The fresh rhizome, or the green ginger, possesses a lemony note which disappears in the drying and only stays then the spine. It is thus preferable to use it freshly. The ginger is transformed by diverse manners: dried, powder, in the vinegar, in can of food, candied in the sugar… Sheets and leaves are also used.

Historic :

The ginger is cultivated and used in all Asia since for so long that its origin (India? China?) is uncertain. Confucius (555 - 479 before JC) already mentions him(it). The sailor Arabics of the Red Sea introduces it in Greece and in Rome. It quickly spreads in all Europe from the first one century. Pliny the Elder (23 - 79) says, in its "Natural history": "It is not the root of the pepperpot, as some people thought of it, which bears the name of zimpiberi or, According to others, that of zingiberi, Although the flavor is the same, Because the ginger grows in Arabia and in country of Wrens, in the neighborhood of houses. It is the root white with a small grass. This root, although bitter, rots in a short time. It is sold six deniers the pound."

Arabics acclimatizes him in oriental Africa in the XIIIth century, and Portuguese in western Africa. In Europe, it becomes, until XIVth century, with the pepper, the most common spice. The ginger is cultivated in America from the XVIth century by the first colonists.

In 1589, Joseph d' Acosta, in " natural and moral History of West Indies " writes: "The ginger was brought by India to the island of Hispañola, and multiplied so that we do not know how to more than make it, so it is true as the fleet of year 1587 brought back in Seville 22 053 quintals."

Historic bibliography:

Flora Sinensis, (1656), Father Michel Boym
Natural and moral history of West Indies, (1589), Joseph d'Acosta


they're saying…

Pline, Avicenne, and many of the others consider it as a powerful aphrodisiac.
In East, he is chewed to take away scoffing attitude.
The rhizome of a variety of ginger of the forests of Annam, called "Ngäi Cop" or "Nägi" of the tiger, confers on those who make use of it a power absolved on the met tigers ; These, instead of attacking(affecting), would bring their help occasionally and would be of use to the need animal of saddle.
The magic plant would also allow to metamorphose into this wildcat.
Dioscoride, doctor Greek of I er century, considers it as an anti poison.

Properties :

For the Asian medicine, it looks almost after all the troubles :
Liquor: facilitate the digestion, warms the stomach, strips of ginger wallowed in some green lemon juice establish a Burmese liqueur.
Carminative
Antibacterial, Antiseptic
Stimulating, fortifying
Relieve the circulatory problems, lowers the rate of cholesterol
aphrodisiac
Improve the view,
In infusion against the cough, the flu, and the diverse throat pains
Recommended to the lying-in women
Calming against the sea and travel sickness
Against headache
Against the travel sickness

Composition :

10 % carbohydrates (starch for the greater part)
1.8 % proteins
1.5 % lipids (mainly in the essential oil)
Vitamins B1: 0.0005 mg / g
B2 : 0.002 mg/g
B3 : 0.052 mg/g
C : 0.35 mg/g
Minerals Potassium 11.26 mg/g
phosphorus 1.44 mg/g
Calcium 0.43 mg/g
Magnésium 1.57 mg/g
Sodium 0.33 mg/g
iron 0.14 mg/g
copper 0.004 mg/g

The fresh rhizome contains :
de 1 à 3% essential oils :
70% de Zingizérène
Camphène, phellandrène, bornéol, cinéol, citral, curcumène and farnesène
A resin which gives him his ardent flavor :
gingéroles, shoagoles, zingérone, zingibérone

The ginger :

Zingiber Officinale Roscoe
Famil of Zingibéracée

Herbaceous tropical perennial until 3 m of top
Lancéolées and long leaves d of 20 cms
It possesses two sorts of stalks: high stalks which carry leaves, short stalks (approximately 20 cms) which carry flowers in ear.
Irregular flowers, yellow greenish, purple lips punctuated and streaked with yellow, purple lower petals, inflorescences in very tight ears, surrounded with big green bracts lined with yellow.
Fruits in capsules.
Vegetative reproduction by fragmentation of the rhizome,
Knotty and perfumed rhizomes, pale beige skin, juicy and perfumed light yellow pulpit, becomes more and more fibrous with the age
Collected later 9 in 10 months (in the hand in numerous countries), the biggest part of the production is washed, dried and reduced powder.