Dive Into the Ingredients That Make Us: Ginger – wayfarersoliloquy

Ginger is one of my favorite foods. I use around 1 kilo, or 2.2 pounds, of it every month. If I feel like a Chinese hotpot, I chop up a handful of ginger and garlic, add dried chilis and Sichuan Peppercorns, throw them in hot oil and add them to a mushroom or bone broth. When I’m feeling like a sweet tooth, I make ginger candies. And most common of all, I kick up my coffee game by adding chopped ginger to boiling water or grinding it in with my coffee beans—thank you Java! 

My first exposure to ginger had to be when I first sipped the spicy elixir of the lake gods known as Vernors. This nostalgic Detroit product was one of the first ginger ales sold to consumers in the United States and helped make ginger ale a common household beverage and cocktail ingredient. In my home state of Michigan, it’s a cultural heritage, much like devil’s night and watching the Lions suffer grueling defeats. As I got older and traveled and ate my way through young adulthood, I learned not only how important the ingredient is for my favorite cuisines but how it changed the palettes of the world one chopped rhizome at a time. 

The Ginger Story

Like its relatives, cardamom and turmeric, ginger is part of the family Zingiberaceae. These plants are some of the most powerful medicinal plants out there. The plant gets a lot of its healthy properties from its spicy anti-inflammatory ketones. Like turmeric, the ginger plant produces a potent rhizome, which is a horizontal stem that the plant shoots into the soil. It is this fibrous structure that makes your favorite holiday cookies shine. 

Alpinia zerumbet, a close relative

The spice’s origins are unknown, although the plant was first cultivated in Asia somewhere around 5000 B.C. or earlier. Like other herbs, its first use was likely medicinal. Ancient civilizations in China, India, and eventually Rome and Persia traded it as a popular medicine. 

In tropical and subtropical Asia, the spice was easy to cultivate. Soon, cultures around the world incorporated fresh ginger into their cuisines. In the Muromachi period (1336-1573) in Japan, the first recorded use of pickled ginger exists. First paired with raw sea bream and eventually with other raw fish, pickled ginger, along with wasabi, became a popular folk medicine for preserving raw foods. 

The Spread of the Spicy Rhizome 

After the Roman Empire fell, Arab traders continued to export the spice through Europe and the Middle East. Because of the harsh climates of these regions, ginger was dried and sometimes ground into a powder to preserve it. In this form, people began adding it to their cuisines as a spice. From England to Morocco, ground ginger became a valuable flavor enhancer that helped evolve otherwise simple flavor profiles into something special. 

Modern Uses

Today, ginger is one of the most popular spices throughout the globe. From ginger cookies to Thai Khao Man Gai sauce, its aromatic spicy punch is undeniably important. In many countries, especially in tropical and subtropical areas, it is easily grown and sold at a cheap price. When exported in its powdered form, it can be an affordable antioxidant. It’s not just its antioxidant properties that have people consuming it in large amounts. On top of this, it is also linked to fighting nausea, inflammation, and, according to some research, cancer. 

Because of its affordability, antioxidant properties, and delicious flavor enhancing powers, many world cuisines depend on it. When combined with other herbs and spices like garlic and turmeric, it contributes to the flavor combinations we all know and love. Few pairings in the world of food are as divine as fresh ginger and garlic. When added to soy sauce, vinegar, and chilis, it creates the ultimate BBQ sauce or marinade. When BBQ braised or grilled in a ginger-garlic marinade is paired with a spicy Vernors, nothing can be more heart warming and delicious.