Ginger - I don't like it

"In Western cuisine there is ginger as in gingerbread, ginger beer, glacé ginger and chocolate ginger. Delicious. But in Asia this fleshy rhizome is used for more serious food. It is mostly always fresh, sometimes brined, occasionally preserved in sugar syrup. dried or ground and never crystallised." Charmaine Solomon

"One cannot even contemplate the cooking of China, South-East Asia or Japan without ginger. It is also central to Indian cooking and important in its ground form in the Middle East and North Africa." Stephanie Alexander

I don't like ginger - "there I've said it", as my younger son is wont to say. And the reason I am writing about it today is that last night I went to a meeting at which was served some kind of slice that looked delicious, but when I bit into it I realised it was ginger. Ugh. David recently bought some chocolate ginger biscuits from Aldi thinking I would be delighted. But no - ugh. That said, on the English front I do like gingernut biscuits and brandy snaps but I'm not that fond of gingerbread. And on the Asian front I use it all the time - well every time I make a curry it inevitably includes ginger. I used to buy fresh ginger and painstakingly grate it into my curry paste, but these days I cheat and buy a jar of grated ginger which doubtless includes all sorts of other nasty and unnecessary things. I suspect I cheat because of my aforesaid aversion to ginger. Mostly, in the recipes in which I use it, the ginger just gets absorbed into all the other spices, so I can't taste it. Which is OK. It is interesting though isn't it that I have never been able to learn to like ginger although I have with other things - avocado, eggplant, chick peas ...

I wonder whether it has something to do with the preserved ginger in syrup that my father brought back from China once. Ginger jars are a big thing in the collector's world and I wonder whether my sister still has the one he brought home. The jar at left is an example - probably much fancier that ours. I have no memory of what our jar looked like other than it was blue and white - no dragon I think - maybe just flowers. The real thing though is that I really, really, did not like the preserved ginger contained within.

Ginger is quite a unique taste and obviously has most people rhapsodising about it:

"I find its unique combination of hot, clean and cool flavours quite irresistible." Stephanie Alexander

"Shredded in a stir-fry of chicken and oyster sauce; pickled in rice vinegar and eaten with sushi; preserved in syrup; coated in dark chocolate; floating in that steaming hot toddy… I love ginger whichever way it comes. In any form, ginger brings with it a subtle warmth rather than heat; a gentle kick and one that I find slightly addictive." Nigel Slater

"With its rich, warming, woody scent and tangy flavour, this is a spice with punch." The Grammar of Spice

Too much punch for me, although I'm not sure that punch is the word I would use.

Whether you like it or not though it is an ancient spice from Asia, which made its way into the western world back before the Greeks and Romans. In medieval times in England it was very popular - in powdered form - as a spice to mask gone off meat. And Elizabeth I is said to have introduced gingerbread men which she had made in the likeness of her guests as gifts. I admit it is one of the most important world spices, but this is not going to make me like it more. It is such an important spice that on occasion it has just been known as 'spice'. In fact the French name for gingerbread is pain d'épices. There might be other spices in it, but it's definitely mainly ginger that they mean. That's what it tastes of anyway.

It's a rhizome - which is what the dreaded bridal creeper in my garden is. Not a root, but a sort of swollen stem but underground. It's a tropical plant and grown here in Australia around Buderim on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. According to Charmaine Solomon, Australia now produces 40% of the world's supply of processed ginger, which is interesting. The plant itself looks a bit like a bamboo and ornamental versions look lovely in the garden and apparently smell heavenly. Here in Australia it is harvested twice a year - the first crop is slightly softer and less fibrous than the later one, which is also stronger in flavour. It's the first crop you should use for pickles I believe.

"Ginger should not look dark and wrinkled, regardless of its maturity. Nor should it bend!" Stephanie Alexander

Smooth skin and fresh looking is what you should look for. And one of the books I dipped into recommended peeling the knobbly rhizome with the rounded edge of a teaspoon because this got into the nooks and crannies better than a knife. Doesn't sound likely to me, but maybe I should go back to buying fresh ginger and try that technique out. Cut ginger should keep in a tightly closed jar in the fridge for a few weeks.

Turmeric and galangal are closely related.

It's also supposed to be good for all sorts of things:

"Ginger helps digestion, relieves stomach aches and reduces excess wind and mucus. It is used in small doses for preventing morning sickness and motion sickness. It is also said to have a calming effect. In Eastern medicine, slices of fresh ginger are simmered with dry-roasted coriander seeds and served as a hot tea to alleviate the symptoms of the common cold." Charmaine Solomon

However, according to Wikipedia none of these health claims have been proved though they don't think it's dangerous. My book The Grammar of Spice says that there is a fisherman's tale that says: "when ginger is chewed and the juice is applied to the bait, the fish really do 'flock to the hook.'" And I'm sure there are lots of other folk medicine kind of things.

It does seem to be popular in drinks though:

"Ginger tea is popular and refreshing. There are different ways of preparing it. In India, slices of fresh ginger are put into the pot in which tea is being brewed, and the strong tea poured out and served with milk and sugar. In the Philippines, ginger and sugar are simmered in water for 30 minutes and served hot. In almost any Asian store it is also possible to buy packets of ginger tea: granules of dried ginger and sugar which, dissolved in hot water, give a sweet and pungent tea."

In Western herbal medicine a cold and flu cure is based on a teaspoon each of ground dried ginger and honey, juice and grated zest of a lemon, a bruised clove of garlic and a pinch of cayenne all combined in a mug and boiling water poured over. Drink it last thing at night then rug up and go to bed, The ginger promotes perspiration." Charmaine Solomon

You would think it was the chilli that promoted the perspiration. Or you could buy some of Twinings Lemon and Ginger Tea which seems to be very popular. Or just stick to lemon and honey with or without brandy. But they are all right - there are lots and lots of drinks from medicinal ones like the above to exotic cocktails.

I will conclude with two recipes. The first is for a very trendy Japanesey pickled ginger from Nigel Slater. As you can see it is pink, which comes from beetroot. It only takes a few hours for it to be ready and is very simple to make. So next time you are making sushi (also not my thing), give it a go.

The other is rather old-fashioned and is from Elizabeth David. it is accompanied by this old-fashioned drawing and is from An Omelette and a Glass of Wine - a book of her collected articles. This is from Vogue in 1958.

GINGER CREAM

"it provides a useful way of using some of the ginger in syrup which one gets given at Christmas time."

Ingredients are a pint of single cream, 5 to 6 egg yolks, a strip of lemon peel, a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg, 3 or 4 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons each of the ginger syrup and the ginger itself, finely chopped. Put the spices and lemon peel into the cream and bring it to the boil. Beat the yolks of the eggs very thoroughly with the sugar. Pour the hot cream into the egg mixture, stir well, return to the saucepan and cook gently, as for a custard, until the mixture has thickened. Take the pan from the fire, extract the lemon peel, go on stirring until the cream is cool. Add the syrup and the chopped ginger.

Leave it in the refrigerator overnight, then, stirring well so that the ginger does not sink to the bottom. pour it into little custard glasses, small wine glasses, or coffee cups. There will be enough to fill 8 glasses.

If you subtract a quarter pint of cream from the original mixture, adding the same quantity of whipped double cream when the custard is quite cold, and freeze it in the foil-covered ice-trays of the refrigerator (at maximum freezing point) for 2 hours, this makes a very attractive ice cream.

Slightly quaint don't you think, yet modern too. No freezers back then - just ice trays in the fridge.

"The experienced cook knows instinctively whether to use less or more ginger to flavour the dish, and the inexperienced cook soon learns." Charmaine Solomon