Flavor description
Ginger (zingiber officinale) is a shirttail relative of the banana. The plant, a perennial, bears glossy, green, spear-shaped leaves and highly perfumed blossoms of white or yellow; the Hawaiians especially prize white ginger flowers for fashioning leis and hair adornments. A native of Asia, ginger will grow wherever a temperate climate permits; the majority of today’s commercial supply is grown in the West Indies, Africa, and China. Virtually all of the plant possesses ginger’s signature spicy fragrance, although cooks look solely to the pungent root for their purposes.
How to find
You will find ginger in many guises. Its fresh form is available in most any grocery’s produce department, where the gnarled root (or, more correctly, the rhizome) with its papery brown skin can often be found in the specialty-ingredients section. Buy online at www.spicehunter.com or www.melissas.com.
How to use
When buying fresh ginger, look for hefty, smooth, shiny knobs. Sushi lovers will recognize pickled ginger, preserved in sweet vinegar, as a side dish as traditional as the daub of fiery wasabi paste. Accomplished bakers and chefs, meanwhile, often use crystallized (or candied) ginger as another way to warm and mellow their creations.
Related Recipes
Double-Ginger Cookies
Orange-Ginger Chicken
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