When I was a child my grandfather always had a ginger jar on the sideboard, more often than not almost empty with just a few crystallised ginger left in it. He had an amazing collection of beautiful ginger jars giving his not-so-secret penchant away. Crystallised ginger is not something I enjoy but the beautiful ginger root is one of my favourite spices to use in cooking and drinking.
Ginger is very easy to grow and will provide a year round supply in frost-free areas. In the sub-tropics where we live I plant in spring and harvest in autumn to avoid our cold winters. It is a shade-loving perennial herb native to the tropics and likes moisture – something our region is not short of, although it hates being waterlogged and must be grown in well-drained soil. It thrives best on loamy or alluvial fertile soils so I provide it with well-rotted manure or compost. Ginger prefers light shade so makes a great under-storey plant. But like all of our great edible plants it’s all in the eating.
The beautiful light golden smooth rhizomes are great used in mains, especially in stir-frys, sweets and drinks. If feeling nauseated I just slice it unpeeled and steep it in hot water to help relieve symptoms. Ginger happily mixes with other fruits and veges to make a great refreshing juice with a little bit of heat to calm the stomach. Using organic produce my usual blend is a small nob of peeled ginger, two green apples, one carrot and cucumber and a dash of lime juice if available.