Ginger – Zingiber officinale
Ginger has been used by humans for around 5,000 years. It is thought to have been cultivated originally
in China with evidence of use by the ancient Romans and Greeks. Currently, it is cultivated in Asia, East
Africa and the Caribbean.
Ginger is eaten as a candy, used as a spice and administered
medicinally. We are most familiar with ginger in teas, ginger
ale, gingerbread, gingered candy, in curries, in stir fries, and as gingersnap
cookies. There
are six forms of ginger:
- · Fresh: generally used in cooking and teas;
- · Dried ginger: the root is dried whole or in slices and re-hydrated when used;
- Pickled: think sushi where thin, colored slices of ginger are used as a condiment;
- · Preserved: chunks are preserved in a sugar-salt mixture;
- · Crystallized: cooked in sugar syrup until tender and rolled in sugar, eaten as a candy;
- · Ground ginger: ginger root dries and powdered. Used primarily in cooking and is very different from fresh ginger in flavor.
According to research preformed at the University of
Michigan, the essential oil gingerol, which gives ginger its characteristic
smell, is strong antioxidant which calms the digestive tract. When ginger is eaten, gingerol blocks serotonin
receptors in your tummy which cause nausea.
Additionally, over the past 25 years, ginger has been shown to be an
effective anti-inflammatory agent.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine (US Department of Health and Human Services) states ginger:
- · Safely relieves pregnancy related nausea and vomiting;
- · Has shown mixed results alleviating motion sickness and nausea related to chemotherapy or surgery;
- · Has shown unclear results treating rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, joint and muscle pain.
Side effects of use are minimal and include gas, bloating,
heartburn and nausea. Interestingly,
these symptoms are attributed to powdered verses fresh ginger use.
Wikipedia reports overdosing on ginger (3/8 cup for 100
pounds body weight) will result in “ginger Jitters”. It seems you can over stimulate your system
and become intoxicated on the spice!!
Ever since I was young, I thought drinking ginger ale would
settle my stomach and knock back any feelings of nausea. Turns out this is supported by scientific
evidence! However, there is a catch: the ginger ale you drink has to have been
made with real ginger. A quick googling
of ginger ale and ingredients will tell you only the custom or boutique ginger
ales are made with real ginger. Schweppes,
Canada Dry, Seagram’s – all the main brands are made from ginger flavoring, not
the real thing. So, if your child or
grandchild has a rumbly tummy, grabbing ginger ale will probably make them
happy: any bubbly, sugary drink will!! ~ but you have to get the real thing to
actually settle their stomach.
Locally, we have a native plant called “Wild Ginger”. Asarum canadense is native to most of the
eastern US, up into Canada and west to Texas and the Dakotas. We know it as wild ginger, Canadian snake root
or Canada wild ginger. A low growing
ground cover, wild ginger loves shade in slightly acidic, moist, rich woods,
has no significant insect or deer problems, and makes a lovely addition to your
woodland garden.
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| Amos Oliver Doyle, CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
The rhizomes smell like
ginger when crushed and have been used by Native American and early colonists
as a food flavoring and medicine. Folk lore has wild ginger treating everything
from soup to nuts and it is important to note modern testing has shown the root
to contain aristolochic acid, a known carcinogen. Eating quantities of the root is not advisable.
The US Forest Service has a neat summary of fun facts
regarding wild ginger which is quoted below:
“The color and the location of the flower have an unusual and interesting
story. The flower evolved to attract small pollinating flies that emerge from
the ground early in the spring looking for a thawing carcass of an animal that
did not survive the winter. By lying next to the ground flower is readily found
by the emerging flies. The color of the flower is similar to that of
decomposing flesh. Whether these flies pollinate the flower or not is in some
dispute. Never the less they do enter the flower to escape the cold winds of
early spring and to feast upon the flowers pollen. Some of the pollen attaches
to their bodies and is taken with them when they visit the next flower.
.jpg) |
| Jason Hollinger, Wikipedia |
When the seeds finally ripen, they have a little oily food gift attached to
the seed; this appendage is called an “elaiosome.” The “elaiosomes” attract
ants that carry the seeds off to their underground home where they consume the
tasty food and leave the seed to germinate. The ecological advantage is that
the seeds are not predated upon by seed-eating animals."
(US Forest Service - http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/asarum_canadense.shtml)
Personally, I love this plant. It is one of the first to flower in the
spring and is fun to point out to friends and family when hiking in the
woods. There is a lovely patch of wild
ginger in the Mundy Wildflower Garden behind the native lawn. Check it out on your next walk through the
gardens.
Written and research by Jean Gerow 3/10/2013
