Health Benefits and Cooking with Ginger

Ginger is quite an amazing thing; it can relieve nausea, loss of appetite, motion sickness, and pain as well as being used in cooking. The root (rhizome) of the ginger plant can be eaten fresh, powdered, dried as a spice, in oil form, or as juice.

Ginger is part of the Zingiberaceae family of flowering plants, as is cardamom and turmeric. These aromatic herbs grow in moist areas of the tropics and subtropics, including some regions that are seasonably dry.

It's recommended by doctors that we should not be consuming any more than 3–4 grams of ginger extract per day. If you're pregnant, don't consume more than 1 gram of ginger extract per day and ginger is not recommended at all for children under the age of two.

Relieving a cold:
Ginger is also one of the best-known remedies for relieving cold symptoms. Plus, it is also known to help with motion sickness and to calm an upset stomach.

Digestion:
As ginger stimulates the production of bile it is also beneficial to digestive aid; chewing on some raw ginger can help sooth your tummy. If you don’t fancy chewing on ginger then drinking a glass of ginger water every day can help strengthen your digestive system which in turn will help prevent indigestion, nausea, and heartburn.

Morning sickness:
Apparently mixing a teaspoon of mint juice, lemon juice and a tablespoon of honey mixed with ginger water can relieve morning sickness during pregnancy.

Cooking with ginger:
There are numerous recipes out there using ginger in the ingredients. Besides the usual Carrot and Coriander soup you could make Carrot and Ginger soup, or even Sweet Potato and Ginger soup. Of course everyone loves ginger cake or biscuits but how about making ginger biscotti.

You can even pickle ginger as used in Bánh mì (Vietnamese single sandwich split lengthways and filled with a savoury filling) and noodle salads. It will retain its vibrant yellow colour and has a sweet-and-sour taste.

Add flavour and heat to curries and can be either added at the beginning for a milder taste, or at the end for a more pungent flavour.

Adding a little ginger along with warming mixed spice to make a crumble topping is delicious. I really love this Baked Apples Stuffed with Dates, Ginger and Orange recipe by Flora.