Ginger: the root with zing

Add zing to your step - and your cooking - with this versatile oriental root

Not so long ago, most people's idea of ginger was a dusty tub of powder which was pushed to the back of the kitchen cupboard until baking day. Today, the fresh root is a familiar sight in most grocers and supermarkets.

Although it originated in India and China, ginger is now also exported from both West Africa and the West Indies, and has been adopted by cuisines worldwide. It's has also been highly regarded for its healing properties for thousands of years.

Look it up in any cookery book and you'll discover a medley of sweet and savoury recipes from traditional curries and stir-fries to ginger lemonade, ginger ice cream and ginger beer. And that's what's so great about it - it's so versatile, blending brilliantly with so many other ingredients, and it adds a warming and deliciously aromatic zing to food.

A Healthy Superfood

The documented health benefits of ginger go back nearly 2,000 years and are almost as prolific as its culinary uses. Here in the West, it's a well-known remedy for preventing nausea, especially morning-sickness and travel sickness. It's also considered a useful aid to digestion, a good circulatory stimulant and has been shown to be effective in helping to lower blood pressure and reduce blood clotting.

The main active ingredient is thought to be a compound called gingerol, which helps to relax blood vessels and stimulate blood flow. Ginger tea is a warming and soothing remedy for coughs and colds, acting as an expectorant, loosening catarrh and phlegm. In fact, it could be said to be a great all round revitalising health tonic.

Top Ginger Tips

Fresh or dried? For maximum flavour ginger is most often used fresh. The dried form is more potent than the fresh root, so you need less. Dried ginger tends to be used more in baking - in traditional sticky ginger cakes, biscuits and delicious tea breads.

Preparing Using it in cooking isn't as daunting as you may think - simply peel off the outer skin and slice, chop or grate according to the recipe. If grating, squeeze the juice out of the woody pulp and discard what's left behind. If you keep it in the freezer, you can grate it direct from frozen - ideal when making curries. There's no need to peel.

Storing Fresh ginger should keep for up to a couple of weeks in the fridge, but it's best to wrap it to prevent it from drying out or becoming mouldy. Ginger also freezes well, either whole or grated into ice cube trays. Jars of grated or finely chopped ginger are a useful storecupboard standby when you're out of the fresh.

Eating The great news is that it doesn't matter how you eat ginger - fresh, ground, dried, candied, infused - include it in your everyday cooking and you'll still reap the health benefits. Because of its origins, ginger is perhaps at its best in spicy Asian dishes, but also blends well with sweet and fruity ingredients such as lemon, pineapple and honey.

Japanese pickled ginger (from Japanese and general supermarkets) adds a delicate flavour to salads and sandwiches (try it with chicken and coriander) and goes well with smoked salmon.

If you have morning sickness or suffer from travel sickness, try nibbling on a piece of crystallised or stem ginger. Many health food stores and pharmacies also stock dried ginger capsules/tablets.

Drinking For something different, try a warming ginger tea: grate 1cm of fresh ginger into a warmed cup, add boiling water and leave to stand for 5-10 minutes. Strain off the grated ginger, add honey and freshly squeezed lemon to taste, and sip slowly.

Blend a splash of aromatic ginger juice with apples, carrots and orange for a revitalising smoothie.

Ginger Recipes
Ginger Chicken
Lamb Cutlets with Tomato and Ginger
Lamb with Lime and Ginger Glaze
Tuna with Soy Sauce, Ginger and Chilli
Raspberry, Ginger and Cinnamon Torte with Raspberry Sauce
Ginger and Honey Poached Pears