Ginger Snaps

Run, run, as fast as you can. You cant catch me, Im the gingerbread man! Ginger might not take first place among spices, but it is gaining ground, ranking a respectable 12th in terms of U.S. popularity, according to the American Spice Trade Association (ASTA), Washington, D.C.

Only the dried form of ginger yields the commonly known spice, and that tells but a fraction of the story. Fresh ginger, available in multiple forms whole, pickled, puréed, sliced or crystallized, to name a few is a distinctly different commodity.

Nevertheless, both dried spice and the other ingredients stem from a common source. Though many species exist, there is just one edible variety of ginger, Zingiber officinale. Zingiber is derived from the Sanskrit word shringavera, which translates to shaped like a deers antlers. These fat antlers are the ginger plants rhizome, or root system, and form thick, fleshy, fingerlike stems, leading to another common moniker for fresh ginger: hand.

Gingers roots reach so far into human history that no definitive date is established for its discovery. However, Chinese and Ayurvedic herbal-medicine lore record gingers use as an anti-emetic and anti-inflammatory agent in 5000 B.C. And, as thousands of travelers will testify, ginger helps prevent nausea from motion sickness. In fact, a comprehensive review of the clinical data related to ginger appears to confirm these anecdotal properties. The ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs, by Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council, Austin, TX, et al, reports that of 21 studies that included a total of 2,669 participants, all but four of the trials showed positive effects for indications including motion sickness, postoperative nausea, cardiovascular conditions and osteoarthritis.

Research conducted at the University of Sydney, Australia, found ginger may help reduce pain and inflammation. The plants active component, gingerol, has a structure similar to capsaicin, a known pain reliever.

The United States imports almost all of its ginger just a tiny fraction is grown in Hawaii. China ships the overwhelming majority of ginger consumed here, accounting for more than half of the 52.8 million lbs. worth of imports recorded by USDA for 2002. This represents a dramatic increase of almost 64%, compared to 1998 ginger imports.

Abbie Leeson, general manager for Royal Pacific Foods, The Ginger People division, Monterey, CA, attributes this dramatic rise to an increased interest in Asian cuisine, from Korean to Vietnamese to Chinese, where ginger appears in many formulations derived from these culinary traditions.

In addition, Leeson sees ginger moving mainstream, as an ingredient in ready-to-eat frozen meals, like Asian rice bowls, and desserts, such as apple pie. Ginger lifts the flavors and makes them more vibrant, supplying a natural source for this effect, as opposed to artificial flavoring, she says.

Candied ginger finds use in baked goods and sauces with a sugar component. Leeson says ginger juice can flavor sauces and finely minced ginger can provide particulate matter. Formulators also can use ginger to help lift the flavor profile in stuffed pastas or tomato sauce.

Aseptically packaged chai tea and brews like ginger beer use ginger juice in varying concentrations. Leesons company produces ginger beer with an 8% kick of ginger. At that level, you achieve real potency. The mainstream, more-conservative companies use 2% to 3% ginger, she says.

Certain dairy formulations, like yogurt, can be tricky. According to Mark Robertson, technical manger at Havenglaze Pty. Ltd., Royal Pacifics candied-ginger plant in Caboolture, Australia, fresh ginger has a pH of 6.0. If the ginger is more acidic than the dairy product it is added to, it could cause a curdling effect, he notes. Fresh ginger also contains enzymes that break down proteins, giving it meat-tenderizing properties.

Astor Chin-Lyn, general manager of Buderim Ginger America Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ, predicts a bright future for ginger. He recalls a special tasting session with more than 125 products made with ginger at the 2003 Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. Ginger is now where garlic was 12 or 15 years ago, he states.

Chuck Achilles, vice president of sales and marketing, SupHerb Farms, Turlock, CA, also testifies to gingers astonishing growth. The volume on our ginger purée has doubled in 1 year, he says, attributing this to increased usage both in manufactured products and foodservice. His companys puréed fresh ginger is available frozen, with a shelf life of 4 years. Once thawed, the product should be utilized within 24 hours, or refrozen.

On the dried side, Peter Sayia of A.A. Sayia & Company, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, touts the advantages of the spice in snacks, cereals and shelf-stable dry mixes, such as meat marinades and rubs. For a pumpkin pie or other baking mix, obviously, ground ginger provides ease of handling and an extended shelf life, he notes. During grinding, it loses some of its essential oils, but it remains a stable product thereafter, as long as it is stored properly.

Both crystallized ginger and the spice help maintain the popularity of a perennial favorite, gingerbread. First popularized in medieval times, a box of gilded gingerbread was as considerate a gift as a box of chocolates is today not to mention a useful building material.

There is little reason to suspect that the witch of Hansel and Gretel fame deliberately started a trend. But unlike the sinister purpose of that first recorded gingerbread house, bakers around the globe pride themselves on their enchanting confections during the holidays. And Americans are falling under gingers spell without the benefit of any magic potion.

Jeanne Turner is a freelance writer with more than 10 years of experience writing about the functional properties of food ingredients.