Botanically, ginger is a member of the Zingiberaceae giner family. Common Names Primarily grown in Botanical Name. Ginger, African ginger, Cochin ginger, Jamaican ginger, Race ginger.
India, China, and Nigeria. Zingiber officinale. Ginger is indigenous to Southern China. The Chinese have used ginger for over years as a digestive aid and anti-nausea remedy. In Traditional Chinese Medicine TCM , ginger is considered a pungent, dry, warming, yang herb for ailments triggered by cold, damp weather. August 30, 0 Comments.
In conjunction with our chocolate creation 'Midnight Ginger ' which I confess is less 'creation' and more classic, winning combination of rich dark chocolate encrusted with delicious jewels of fiery crystallised ginger , we delved into the background of this fascinating plant to bring you a few interesting facts. In the West, ginger has been widely used in medicine for over years, however the Chinese have used it for over years, in fact, as far back as BC the great Chinese philosopher and teacher Confucius himself insisted ginger be present at the table during every meal as it was known to aid digestion.
Initially exported to Ancient Rome from India and used extensively by the Romans, it almost disappeared from use when the Roman Empire fell, at which time the Arabs took control of the spice trade from the east, and ginger became quite costly - in the Middle Ages, grams of ginger roughly equivalent to half a bag of sugar - UK cost as much as a live sheep! The upper classes were also known to indulge in excessive quantities of fine cuisine, so ginger tea, and biscuits were often served to guests at dinner parties to settle aching stomachs.
The word ginger comes from the ancient Sanskrit singabera, meaning 'shaped like a horn', and is a member of a plant family that includes cardamom and turmeric, even bananas and plantains are distant relatives to ginger. To check that manufacturers were upholding this new regulation, the government would test the composition of the products by evaporating off all the water and alcohol and then weighing the solid matter that remained.
Ginger is thought to have originated in southeast Asia. But in the late seventeenth century, when the British physician and natural historian Hans Sloane visited Jamaica, he found that ginger had been growing on the island for many years. He reported that the climate suited ginger and that it was well established: it thrives very much, being planted by Root or Seed. They would have appeared at fairs and markets in the fancy shapes already referred to and wrapped in a gilt covering.
It is not surprising, at a time when children were given few treats, that gingerbreads were a favoured reward to those who had mastered their letters or passed some other educational milestone, hence the citation of in the OED of teaching 'little Misses to read Gingerbread Letters'.
The term and the commodity have found a place in both the English language hence sayings like 'To take the gilt off the gingerbread' and 'gingerbread work' and in traditional stories like 'The Little Gingerbread Man'. They were not common in the shops. Sources: Inventories mid-period , Newspapers, Tradecards.
References: Milburn , Montgomery , Yule and Burnell , pb It became sufficiently distinctive to be called simply a 'Gingham', although the OED does not record this use before the mid-nineteenth century, and it has not been noted in the Dictionary Archive.
The root of the plant was much used medicinally in China, but not in Britain, where it was not included in the Materia Medica.
Skip to main content. This free content was born digital. All rights reserved. Keyword highlight. Sources: Inventories early. Ginger [gyng'r; gyngere; gynger; gyng'; ginn'; ging'r; genger] The rhizome of the tropical plant Zingiber officinale has been so long in cultivation that its place of origin is obscured.
References: Haldane Ginger dust [dust of cloves of ginger] In the Book of Rates, it was allowed for dust of ginger to be exported free [Rates ]. Sources: Rates. OED earliest date of use: Sources: Inventories mid-period. Sources: Tradecards. References: Accum Ginger seed Ginger was recognized as having medicinal properties, hence its name Zingiber officinale. References: Masefield et al.
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