Ginger

“ GINGER is the dried root of a somewhat reed-like plant (Amomum zingiber, Pl. 1. Fig. 2.) which grows wild in several parts of Asia; and is much cultivated both in the East and West Indies. The flowers of the ginger plant issue from stalks distinct from those which support the leaves, and form a kind of ear or spike, of beautiful colours and very fragrant smell.
The cultivation of ginger is nearly similar to that of potatoes. The land is first well cleansed from weeds: it is then dug into trenches similar to those which our gardeners make for celery ”

“ A SUPERIOR GINGER BEER Take of sugar 10 lbs., lemon juice 9 oz., honey 1/2 lb., bruised ginger root 11 oz., water 9 galls., yeast 3 pints, boil the ginger in the water until the strength is all extracted, which you may tell be tasting the root, then pour it into a tub, throwing the roots away, let it stand until nearly luke warm, then put in all the rest of the ingredients, stir well until all dissolved, cover it over with a cloth, and if it be in the evening, let it remain until next morning, then strain through cloth, and bottle it, and in a short time it will be fit for use. ”

“ The ginger of commerce varies in form from single joints an inch or less in length to flattish, irregularly branched pieces of several joints from three to four inches long. Each branch has a depression at its summit, showing the former attachment of a leafy stem. The color in its natural state is a pale buff. It has a somewhat rough or fibrous appearance, breaking with a short, mealy fracture, and presenting on the surface of the broken parts numerous short, bristly fibers. When young, it has a light color, internally soft, and changing to greenish. ”

“ The dealers frequently ‘dress up’ the common dark-coloured gingers by washing them in water, drying them, and then ‘rouncing’ them in a bag with a little calcined whiting or magnesia (WASHED GINGER) ; or they bleach them by dipping them into a solution of chloride of lime, or by exposing them to the fumes of burning sulphur (BLEACHED GINGER) ; or they dip them into a milk formed of quicklime or whiting and water (WHITE-WASHED GINGER) . The last has a chalk-white surface, which cannot be mistaken for the natural one. Powdered ginger is with difficulty obtained pure and good. ”

“ According to some authorities ginger was known to the earliest of the Greeks and Romans and has been a common spice among the nations of Europe, including England, since the eleventh century. Under the Plantagenets and Tudors ginger was used as a flavoring for meats, unlike the modern custom of using it only in curries, cakes and beverages. To-day ginger is exported from both the Indies, that from Jamaica being particularly fine, from Africa, from China, from India and from Borneo. The African ginger is of excellent flavor but of dark color. It is chiefly sold to bakers. ”

“ In ground ginger little of its structure is seen beyond the starchy grains which can readily be distinguished by their shape and by their fibrous, vascular bundles which are easily traceable. In the unscraped ginger the outer horny layer is to be seen, but not distinct in its character at any time, and when scalding of the rhizomes takes place, the starch grains are swollen and it is more difficult to find the foreign particles. ”

“ Salable essence of ginger is made by taking one pint of strong tincture of the finest Jamaica, to which add in small portions at a time finely powdered slacked lime, shaking vigorously after each addition, until the tincture ceases to lose color, then throw the whole upon a filter and pass through the residue proof spirit until the product will measure two pints. ”

“ Ginger also is produced in all the islands of this archipelago: some is sown, some grows spontaneously; but the sown ginger is the best. The plant is like the saffron-plant, and its root, which resembles the root of saffron, is what we call ginger. Our men were kindly received by the various chiefs, who all, after the example of the King of Thedori, spontaneously submitted themselves to the imperial government. ”

“ But this is probably an introduced word shaped by this imaginary etymology. Though ginger is cultivated all over India, from the Himālaya to the extreme south, [138] the best is grown in Malabar, and in the language {374b}of that province (Malayālam) green ginger is called inchi and inchi-ver, from inchi, 'root.' Inchi was probably in an earlier form of the language siñchi or chiñchi, as we find it in Canarese still sūnti, which is perhaps the true origin of the H. sonth for 'dry ginger,' [more usually connected with Skt. suṇṭhi, suṇṭh, 'to dry'] . ”

“ China preserved ginger has a more agreeable aromatic flavor than that of the West Indies, and the celebrated Canton preserved excels all other preserved ginger. The syrup waters drawn off are used for cool drinks. Canton exported for the first quarter of the year 1905 650 piculs of preserved ginger of 133 pounds each. ”

“ The scraped ginger, or marrow, has a pale hue and breaks readily and moderately short, the younger and terminal portions appearing pale yellow, being soft and starchy, while the longer transverse sections of the more perfect and outer parts are hard, flinty, and resinous, surrounding a farinaceous center which has a speckled appearance from the cut extremities of the fibers and ducts. ”

“ The plant affording ginger must have been known to Marco Polo (circa 1280-90) , who speaks of observing it both in China and India. John of Montecorvino, who visited India about 1292 (see p. 521) , describes ginger as a plant like a flag, the root of which can be dug up and transported. Nicolo Conti also gave some description of the plant and of the collection of the root, as witnessed by him in India. [2358]
The Venetians received ginger by way of Egypt; yet some of the superior kinds were conveyed from India overland by the Black Sea, as stated by Marino Sanudo [2359] about 1306. ”

“ To make a good Gingerbread, without Butter. Mix two pounds of treacle, of orange, lemon, citron, and candied ginger, each four ounces, all thinly sliced, one ounce of coriander seeds, one ounce of carraways, and one ounce of beaten ginger, in as much flour as will make a soft paste; lay it in cakes on tin plates, and bake it in a quick oven. Keep it dry in a covered earthen vessel, and it will be good for some months.
Note. If cake or biscuit be kept in paper or a drawer, the taste will be disagreeable. A pan and cover, or tureen, will preserve them long and moist. ”

“ The dried roots of this plant are either white, from the lime employed to prevent their destruction by vermin; or blueish, brown, or black, according to the soil in which they have been cultivated: they are of eminent use, both for culinary and medical purposes, affording one of the most wholesome and agreeable spices. Hence ginger in entire pieces is often boiled in beer, and drunk by persons who are obliged to spend part of their time in cold, open air. It is more immediately serviceable in cold flatulent colics ”

“ Ingredients.—An equal weight of marrow and sugar. To each lb. of marrow allow 1⁄4 of an oz. of whole ginger, and the grated rind and juice of 1⁄2 a lemon.
Method.—Prepare the marrow as in the preceding recipe, pile the slices on a large dish, with the sugar spread in layers, and allow it to remain thus until the following day. Then turn the whole into a preserving-pan, add the lemon-rind and lemon-juice, the ginger cut into small pieces, and boil very gently until the greater part of the moisture is absorbed. Turn into pots, cover closely, and store in a cool, dry place. ”

“ Ginger Lozenges.—Dissolve in one-quarter of a pint of hot water half an ounce of gum arabic; when cold, stir it up with one and a half pounds of loaf sugar, and a spoonful of powdered ginger, or twelve drops of essence of ginger. Roll and beat the whole up into a paste; make it into a flat cake, and punch out the lozenges with a round stamp; dry them near the fire, or in an oven.
Peppermint Lozenges.—Best powdered white sugar, seven pounds; pure starch, one pound; oil of peppermint to flavor. Mix with mucilage.
Peppermint, Rose or Hoarhound Candy.—They may be made as lemon candy. ”

“ As it grows older it becomes grey outside and reddish internally. When ready for digging the texture becomes fibrous and firm and heavy, and when dried it is covered with wrinkled striated brown integuments which give it a crude appearance, which is less developed on the flat surface and, internally, it is less bright and delicate than ginger from which the cuticle part has been removed. The best pieces of ginger root are collected at the harvest and thrown into heaps and covered with cow manure to keep the roots from drying for the next planting. ”

“ Jamaica black ginger is not frequently found in the shops. The Malabar dark ginger is in unscraped short pieces, which have a horny appearance internally, and are of a dirty brown color both internally and externally. ”

“ Let them stand twenty-four hours, then drain and cover with fresh water. Make a strong ginger tea, allowing one quart of boiling water to a pound of bruised ginger root. Let it simmer gently for twenty minutes until the strength of the ginger is extracted. Scald the chopped [Pg 110] tomatoes in this. Drain. Mix together one ounce ground ginger, two tablespoonfuls black pepper, two teaspoonfuls ground cloves, a quarter pound white mustard seed, one-half cupful ground mustard, one ounce allspice, three ounces celery seed and three pounds brown sugar. ”

“ We learn from kind information given us (1878) by Messrs. Schimmel & Co. at Leipzig, that they obtain as much as 2·2 per cent. of oil from good ginger.
The burning taste of ginger is due to a resin which we have not examined, but which well deserves careful analysis. Protocatechuic acid, which is so commonly afforded by resins (see page 243) , is also produced by melting the resin of ginger with caustic potash, as shown in 1877 by Stenhouse and Groves. [Pg 638]
Commerce—Great Britain imported of ginger as follows:—
In 1876 the imports were 62,164 cwt., valued at £169,252. ”

“ Bread-fruit, whether in sirup or crystallized, is flavorless to the European taste, and more a food-substance than a fruit. Preserved ginger is popular in England, but is not much esteemed on the Continent. The Spaniards eat raw ginger in the morning to give themselves an appetite ”

“ Each time put on the ginger in quite cold water to take out the excessive heat. When it is perfectly tender, throw it again into a pan of cold water, and let it lie an hour or more; this will make it crisp. In the mean time prepare the syrup.
For every six pounds of ginger root, clarify eight pounds of the best double-refined loaf-sugar. Break up the sugar, put it into a preserving kettle, and melt it in spring or pump water, (into which you have stirred gradually the beaten whites of four eggs,) and half a pint of water to each pound of sugar. Boil and skim it well. ”

“ Ginger is a delicate plant, and very liable to rot, particularly if planted in too rich a soil, or where it may be subject to heavy rains. The general average of yield is from 1,500 to 2,000 lbs. per acre in plants, although I have known as much as 3,000 lbs. of ginger cured from an acre of land. The planting season generally commences in Jamaica in February and March, and the crop is got in in December and January, when the stalks begin to wither. ”

“ The best ginger grown comes from Jamaica. It is of a superior strength, fine flavor and a light, handsome color. A peculiar trade custom prevails in Jamaica with regard to ginger, which is not sold by weight or measure but by the “heap,” and the size of the heap governs the price and is an indication, to a certain extent, of the quality and quantity of the crop. If the heap is small, the price is high; if the heap is large, then the price is lower. If the races or hands, are finely shaped and large, there are fewer in the heap; if small, dark and mealy, the heap is made larger. ”

“ Excellent Ginger-Snaps.—Boil together one pint molasses, one cup butter, one table-spoonful of ginger. Let them only boil up once, then set aside to cool. When cold, roll two small teaspoonfuls of soda perfectly smooth, and beat into the molasses; while foaming pour it upon just as little flour as will make it possible to roll out very thin. Bake quick.
In measuring by spoonfuls, be careful that the spoon is even full, not heaped. Careless measurement spoils many good dishes. ”

“ Some use the ginger sold at the shops already powdered; some, again, the essence of ginger, colouring the paste with saffron.
211.—Lemon Drops.
Rub off the yellow rind of some lemons on a piece of rough [81] sugar; scrape it off, and mix it into your paste. Add sufficient to your sugar to give it a good flavour, and colour it a light yellow with saffron. Moisten with clear water, and mix as the rest. ”

“ To make Dutch Ginger-bread:—Take four pounds of flour, and mix with it two ounces and a half of beaten ginger; then rub in a quarter of a pound of butter, and add to it two ounces of carraway-seeds, two ounces of orange-peel dried and rubb'd to powder, a few coriander-seeds bruised, two eggs: then mix all up in a stiff paste, with two pounds and a quarter of treacle; beat it very well with a rolling-pin, and make it up into thirty cakes ”

“ True ginger must not be confounded with "wild ginger," which is a small herbaceous plant (Asarum canadense) of the United States. The long, slender rhizomes of Asarum have a pungent, aromatic taste similar to ginger. According to popular belief this plant has a peculiar charm. Friends provided with the leaves are enabled to converse with each other, though many miles apart and speaking in the faintest whisper.
The early Greeks and Romans made extensive use of ginger as a spice and as a medicine. ”