Ginger and Galangal

Ginger

The ginger plant has a long history of cultivation known to originate in China and then
spread to India, Southeast Asia, West Africa, and the Caribbean. Ginger's current name
comes from the Middle English gingivere, but ginger dates back over 3,000 years to the
Sanskrit srngaveram meaning "horn root" with reference to its appearance. In Greek it was
ziggiberis, and in Latin, zinziberi. Although it was well-known to the ancient Romans,
ginger nearly disappeared in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. Thanks to
Marco Polo's trip to the Far East, ginger came back into favor in Europe, becoming not
only a much-coveted spice, but also a very expensive one.ginger

benefits:

  • As ginger is generally consumed in relatively small doses its nutritional value is of less
    concern.
  • However, ginger's nutritional value on a per 100g basis contains 17.77g of
    carbohydrates, 1.7g of sugars, 2g of dietary fiber, 0.75g of fat, 1.82g of protein and
    contains most vitamin B categories, vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous,
    potassium and zinc.
  • Ginger has long been known to help relieve nausea, and research at the University of Sydney has found it may also reduce pain and inflammation;
  • Ginger is most commonly known for its effectiveness as a digestive aid. By increasing the production of digestive fluids and saliva, ginger helps relieve indigestion, gas pains,
    diarrhea and stomach cramping.

buying and storing:

  • Fresh ginger should be stored in a paper bag in the vegetable crisper of the refrigerator,
    where it will keep for weeks.
  • If you need to keep it longer, you can break it apart, peel the pieces, and store them covered in a jar of sherry.
  • look for firm brightly coloured roots.

Galangal

Galangal originates from Thailand, it has similar properties to Ginger only a lot more woodier, so therefore you would need to pound in a mortar and pestle until fine or slice very finely.galangal

benefits:

  • same as ginger

buying and storeing:

Tumeric (see asian leaf & herb lines)

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