Ginger or ginger root is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale,
consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its
genus and family (Zingiberaceae). Other notable members of this plant
family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal. The distantly related
dicots in the Asarum genus have the common name wild ginger because of
their similar taste.
Ginger is indigenous to southern China, from
whence it is spread to the Spice Islands and other parts of Asia, and
subsequently to West Africa and to the Caribbean.
Ginger produces a hot, fragrant kitchen spice.
Young ginger rhizomes are juicy and fleshy with a very mild taste. They
are often pickled in vinegar or sherry as a snack or just cooked as an
ingredient in many dishes. They can also be steeped in boiling water to
make ginger tea, to which honey is often added; sliced orange or lemon
fruit may also be added. Ginger can also be made into candy, or ginger
wine which has been made commercially since 1740.
Mature ginger rhizomes are fibrous and nearly dry. The juice from old ginger roots is extremely potent
and is often used as a spice in Indian recipes, and is a quintessential
ingredient of Chinese, Korean, Japanese and many South Asian cuisines
for flavoring dishes such as seafood or goat meat and vegetarian
cuisine.