The pungent rhizome of a tropical plant, used fresh in Asian cooking and dried in Western baking. Gingerols give fresh ginger its bite; drying turns them into the fiercer shogaols.
What it is¶
Ginger is the rhizome of Zingiber officinale, a tropical perennial with tall, reed-like leafy stems. The knobbly, branching rhizomes, known as "hands", have thin tan skin and pale yellow, fibrous flesh.
It is sold in a remarkable range of forms:
| Form | What it is | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh (mature) | Harvested at 8–10 months, firm skin | Stir-fries, curries, marinades |
| Young or "stem" ginger | Harvested early, pink-tipped, thin skin, less fibre | Pickling, eating raw |
| Ground | Dried and powdered | Baking, spice mixes |
| Stem ginger in syrup | Young ginger cooked in sugar syrup | Puddings, ice cream |
| Crystallised | Candied and sugar-coated | Baking, snacking |
| Pickled (gari, beni shoga) | Thin slices in sweet vinegar; red shreds | With sushi; ramen and yakisoba |
Origins and history¶
Ginger was domesticated in tropical Asia so long ago that its wild ancestor is unknown. It was carried across the Pacific by Austronesian voyagers and west to India, where it became central to cooking and to Ayurvedic tradition; the English word comes, via Greek and Latin, from a Dravidian or Sanskrit root.
It was one of the earliest spices traded to the Mediterranean; the Romans imported it, and in medieval Europe ginger was among the most widely used spices after pepper. Gingerbread in various forms dates to the Middle Ages. The Spanish established ginger in the Caribbean in the sixteenth century, and Jamaican ginger became renowned for its quality. Ginger beer, a fermented drink, was popular in Britain from the eighteenth century, and ginger ale followed in the nineteenth. See the-spice-trade and spices-in-britain.
Flavour and aroma¶
Fresh ginger's heat comes from gingerols, pungent compounds related to capsaicin and piperine. It is also bright, lemony and floral, from citral and other volatile oils. When ginger is dried, gingerols partly convert to shogaols, which are roughly twice as pungent, so ground ginger is sharper and hotter but loses most of the fresh citrus notes. Long cooking converts gingerols to zingerone, which is much milder and sweeter, which is why ginger in a slow braise tastes gentler than ginger added at the end.
In the kitchen¶
Fresh¶
- Chinese cooking. With garlic and spring onion, the base of countless stir-fries, steamed fish and braises. See chinese-cuisine.
- Indian cooking. Pounded with garlic as ginger-garlic-paste, the start of most North Indian curries; also in chai and chutneys.
- Japan and Korea. Grated into dipping sauces, shogayaki (ginger pork), and kimchi.
- Southeast Asia. In curry pastes, though galangal often takes the lead in Thailand.
For a stir-fry for four, a thumb-sized piece (about 15–20 g), peeled and finely chopped or cut into matchsticks. Peel with the edge of a teaspoon; it follows the knobbles without wasting flesh. Grate across the fibres on a fine grater or a ceramic ginger grater.
Dried and preserved¶
Ground ginger is a mainstay of British and European baking: gingerbread, parkin, ginger snaps, ginger cake and mixed spice. About 2 tsp flavours a ginger cake. It is also in quatre-epices, ras-el-hanout and many curry powders. Stem ginger and crystallised ginger go into sponges, ice creams and sticky puddings.
🔬 Ginger and milk
Fresh ginger contains a protein-digesting enzyme, zingibain. It helps tenderise meat in marinades, and it is what sets Cantonese ginger milk curd, a pudding made by pouring hot sweetened milk onto fresh ginger juice. The same enzyme can stop gelatin setting, so heat fresh ginger before adding it to jellies.
Buying and storing¶
Choose fresh ginger that is firm, heavy and smooth-skinned, with no wrinkles or mould. It keeps for about three weeks in the fridge, unwrapped or in a paper bag in the vegetable drawer. It freezes very well: freeze whole, then grate straight from frozen, no peeling needed. Ground ginger is best within a year. Stem ginger in syrup keeps for months once opened, refrigerated.
Substitutes¶
Swap ground for fresh at roughly ¼ tsp ground for 1 tbsp grated fresh, accepting the change in flavour. galangal is a sharper, piney relative and works in Southeast Asian dishes. For baking, crystallised or stem ginger can replace ground ginger for texture and a milder flavour.
Pairs well with¶
garlic, spring onion, soy sauce, lemongrass, chilli, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, star anise, black pepper, lime, honey, treacle, rhubarb, pears, carrots, pork, fish, chicken.
Growing your own¶
Ginger is an easy and rewarding indoor plant. Buy plump fresh rhizomes with visible buds ("eyes"); soaking overnight in warm water helps. Plant pieces 2–5 cm long just below the surface in a wide, shallow pot of free-draining compost, buds pointing up, in late winter or spring. Keep warm (above about 20 °C), bright but out of scorching sun, and just moist.
Shoots appear in a few weeks. You can harvest young ginger from the edge of the pot after about four months, or wait 8–10 months until the leaves yellow for a full crop of mature rhizomes. See growing-your-own-spices.
Health and safety¶
Culinary ginger is safe for almost everyone; large amounts can cause heartburn. Concentrated supplements may interact with anticoagulant medicines.
📜 The Jamaica ginger disaster
In 1930, during American Prohibition, a patent medicine called Jamaica ginger extract ("Jake"), drunk for its high alcohol content, was adulterated with an industrial chemical, tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate. Tens of thousands of people suffered nerve damage, many permanently, a condition known as "Jake leg". The ginger was not to blame; the adulterant was. See spice-adulteration.