Ginger
Family Zingiberaceae
Zingiber officinale, ginger (Z. officinale 1), is a perennial herb, 30-100 cm tall, with fleshy and branched rhizomes bearing leafy shoots. The rhizome is about 2 cm in diameter, pale yellow within. The leaves are simple with a well-developed ligule, a lanceolate lamina with entire margins and parallel veins. Flowers are seldom seen, inflorescences occasionally arising direct from the rootstock, 10-20 cm long. Flowers borne on a cone-like spike with appressed bracts, one yellowish flower in the axil of each bract. The fruit is a capsule, but seldom produced. Propagation always vegetatively by portions of the rhizome (Z. officinale 2).
Distribution
Ginger has been cultivated in tropical Asia since ancient times. The centre of origin may have been India. Ginger was known in Europe not later than the first century AD. Arab traders must have brought it from India. It was known in Germany and France in the 9th century, in Britain in the 10th. Marco Polo reports the plant in 1280 in China, Sumatra and India. Preserved ginger from China was imported in Europe in the Middle Ages. The Arabs took it from India to East Africa in the 13th century, and the Portuguese took it to West Africa in the 16th century. The Spaniards introduced it into Mexico and Jamaica about that time. Nowadays ginger is grown widely in tropical countries.
Use
The dried rhizomes (Z. officinale 3) which contain an essential oil, constitute the spice. In the West this is widely used for culinary purposes. Pulverized it is a constituent of curry powder and it is the most widely used spice in the Oriental cuisine. It is also used in the production of ginger beer. The essential oil is used in the manufacture of flavouring essences and in perfumery. Ginger is also widely used in local medicine in India and the Far East, as it was in Europe during medieval times. Preserved ginger used in jams and pastry is made from young rhizomes, which are boiled with sugar and packed in syrup.
The biggest producers are China and India. The biggest exporters of dried ginger are India, Jamaica, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Mauritius. The biggest importers are the UK and Arab countries.