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Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.)

Synonyms

pharmaceuticalRhizoma Zingiberis
AlbanianXhenxhefili
Amharicዝንጅብል, ዝንዥብል
Zinjibil, Zinzhibil
ApataniDaki
Arabicزنجبيل
زَنْجَبِيل
Zanjabeel, Zanjabil
Aramaicܓܝܢܒܪܐ, ܗܡܠܬܐ, ܙܢܓܒ݂ܝܠ, ܙܪܘܒܕ
Ginbira, Hamalata, Zangvil, Zurbed
ArmenianԿոճապղպեղ
Gojabghbegh, Kochapghpegh
Assameseআদা
Ada
AzeriZəncəfil
Зәнҹәфил
BasqueJengibre, Zingiber
BelarusianІмбір
Imbir
Bengaliআদা
Ada
Bodoछाइजेन, हाइजेन
Chaijen, Haijen
BretonJinjebr
BulgarianДжинджифил, Исиот
Dzhindzhifil, Isiot
BurmeseGin, Gyin sein, Khyen-seing
CatalanGingebre, Gengibre
Chakma𑄃𑄘
Ada
ChineseJeung, Sang keong, Chiang, Keong, Gan jinang
Chinese
(Cantonese)
[gēung], 生薑 [sàang gēung]
Geung; Saang geung (fresh)
Chinese
(Mandarin)
[jiāng], 生薑 [shēng jiāng]
Jiang; Sheng jiang (fresh)
CroatianĐumbir, Ingver
CzechZázvor, Dumbír, Zázvor kořen
DanishIngefær
Dhivehiއިނގުރު
In'guru
Dogriअदरख, सोंठ
Adrakh, Sonth
DutchGember, Djahe
Dzongkhaས་གཱ་, ས་ལྒ་
Saga
EnglishGinger
EsperantoZingibro
EstonianHarilik ingver, Ingverijuur, Ingver
EweNkrawusa, Nkrama, Nkrabo, Agumetakui
FanteAkakadur, Tsintsimir, Tsintsimin
Farsiزنجبیل
Jamveel, Zanjabil
FinnishInkivääri
FrenchGingembre
Ga-DangmeKakaotshofa, Odzahui
GaelicDinnsear, Geinsear
GalicianXenxibre
GaroE·ching
Georgianჯანჯაფილი, კოჭა
Janjapili, Jhanjhafili, K’och’a, Kocha
GermanIngwer
GreekΠιπερόριζα, Τζίντζερ
Piperoriza, Dzindzer
Greek (Old)Ζιγγίβερις
Zingiberis
Gujaratiઆદું, સૂંઠ
Adu, Sunth
HausaChittar, Afu
Hebrewזנגביל, זנגוויל
זַנגבִיל
Sangvil, Zangvil
Hindiअदरख, सोंठ, सौंठ
Adrak, Adrakh (fresh); Sonth, Saunth (dried)
HmarAithing
HmongKai
HungarianGyömbér
IcelandicEngifer
IndonesianJahé, Aliah, Jae, Lia
IrishSinséar
ItalianZenzero
Japanese茗荷, 生姜
しょうが, みょうが
ショウガ, ジンジャー, ミョウガ
Shōga, Shoga, Jinja; Myōga, Myoga (Zingiber mioga)
Kannadaಶುಂಠಿ
Alla, Shunthi
Kashmiriشونٹھ, ادرک
Shounth, Adrak
KazakhЗанзабил
Zanzafil
KhasiSying
KhmerKhnehey, Khnhei phlung, Chnay
Korean건강, 진저, 생강
Kon-gang, Geon-gang, Jinjeo, Chinjo, Saenggang
Laoຂີງ, ປີດິນ
Khing, Pidin
LatinGingiber, Zingiber, Zinziber, Zynziber
LatvianĀrstniecības ingvers
LithuanianImbieras, Tikrasis imbieras
MacedonianЃумбир
Đumbir
Maithiliआदी, शोइठ, सोंइट
Adi, Shoith, Soit
MalayHalia, Atuja, Jahi
Malayalamഇഞ്ചി, ചുക്
Inchi, Enchi; Chuku (dry)
MalteseĠinġer
Manipuri (Meitei-Lon)শিং, শীঙ
ꯁꯤꯡ
Singh, Shing
Marathiआले, सुंठ
Alha, Aale (fresh), Sunth, Shuntya (dried)
MizoSothing
MongolianЦагаан гаа
Tsagan gaa
Naga (Angami)Kevü
Naga (Khezha)Evüdo
Naga (Mao)Ravo
Naga (Rongmei)Gue
Naga (Tangkhul)Hui
Nepaliअदुवा, सुठो
Aduwa, Sutho
Newari
(Nepalbhasa)
पालु, पाः लू
Palu
NorwegianIngefær
NzemaSinziminli
Oriyaଅଦା
Ada
PolishImbir
PortugueseGengibre
ProvençalGengibre
Punjabiਅਦਰਕ, ਸੂੰਡ
Adrak, Sund
RomanianGhimbir
RussianИмбирь
Imbir
SanskritAdraka (fresh), Shunthi (dried), Shringaveran, Sringaaran, Nagara
SantaliAdhe, Ada; Sut
SerbianЂумбир, Исиот, Ингвер
Đumbir, Isiot, Ingver
Sinhala ඉඟුරු, ඉගුරු
Inguru
SlovakĎumbier lekársky, Zázvor, Ďumbier
SlovenianIngver
SpanishJengibre
SrananDyindya
SwahiliTangawizi
SwedishIngefära
TagalogLuya
Tamilஇஞ்சி, சோண்டி
Ingee, Inji; Sonti (dried)
Teluguఅల్లపు చెట్టు, అల్లము, శొంటి
Allam, Allamu, Allamu chettu, Shonti
Thaiขิง
Khing, Khing-daen
Tibetanསྒ་སྨུག་, སྒ་སྐྱ་
Gamug, Sga smug, Sga skya, Gakya
Tigrinyaጅንጅብል
Jenjebel
Tuluಶುಂಟಿ
Shunti
TwiAkakaduru, Kakaduru
TurkishZencefil, Zencebil
UkrainianІмбир
Imbyr
Urduادرک, آدی
Adrak, Adi
UzbekImbir
Имбир
VietnameseGừng, Can khương, Sinh khương
Gung, Can khuong; Sinh khuong (fresh)
WelshSinsir
Yiddishאימבער, אינגבער
Imber, Ingber

Zingiber officinale: Fresh ginger rhizome
Fresh ginger rhizome
Zingiber officinale: Ginger rhizome
Young ginger rhizome

kanchanapisek.or.th
© Thai Junior Encyclopedia

Zingiber officinale: Shooting ginger root
Ginger rhizome with fresh shoot
Zingiber officinale: Young ginger rhizome and sprout
Young ginger shoots and rhizome
Used plant part

The large, fleshy rhizome (gingerroot, although it is not a root). In the fresh state, it has a characteristic staghorn-like ap­pear­ance; dried ginger is usually sold in form of an off–white to very light brown powder.

Ginger leaves are oc­casio­nally used for fla­vouring in ginger producing countries.

Plant family

Zingiberaceae (ginger family).

Sensory quality

Refreshing, lemon-like smell; pungent, warm taste. See negro pepper for a comparison of pungent spices, and lemon myrtle for other spices with citrus aroma.

Main constituents

The essential oil (1 to 3% of the fresh rhizome) contains mostly sesqui­terpenes, e. g., (–)-zingiberene (up to 70%), (+)-ar-curcumene β-sesquiphellandrene, bisabolene and farnesene. Mono­terpenoids occur in traces (β-phell­andrene, cineol, citral).

The pungency of ginger is caused by a non-volatile resin containing the same type of hydroxyaryl compounds that are also found in other spices of the ginger family: Zingerone, gingeroles and shogaoles. The pungent gingeroles degrade to the milder shogaoles during storage; high gingerole content and good pungency thus indicate freshness and quality. See also grains of paradise.

Origin

Ginger seems to originate from Southern China. Today, it is cultivated all over tropic and subtropical Asia (50% of the world’s harvest is produced in India), in Brazil, Jamaica (whence the best quality is exported) and Nigeria, whose ginger is rather pungent, but lacks the fine aroma of other provenances.

Zingiber officinale: Ginger inflorescense
Ginger flower

Photo: Ben-Erik van Wyk
(Food Plants of the World, Briza Publications)

Zingiber officinale: Ginger flower (ornamental)
Ginger flower (ornamental)

perso.wanadoo.fr

Etymology

German Ingwer, English ginger, French gingembre, Italian zenzero and practically all other names of ginger in European languages can, at first, be traced back to Latin zingiber, which was in turn a loan from Greek (zingiberis [ζιγγίβερις]).

Following fur­ther, we arrive in India, which was Europe’s source of ginger in antiquity: The Greek name zingiberis [ζιγγίβερις] is, in fact, quite an accurate repre­sentation of the name of ginger in Indic languages spoken at the same time, e. g., Pali singivera [सिंगिवेर]; the cor­responding Sanskrit form is shringavera [शृंगवेर]. These Indic names used to be explained to mean shaped like a deer’s antler (horn), but they are now thought to be Dravidian loans: In modern Dravidian tongues, the root INCI still denotes ginger, e. g., Malayalam inchi [ഇഞ്ചി] ginger or Tamil inji-ver (ingee-ver) [இஞ்சி வேர்] ginger-root. Cf. also Sinhala and Dhivehi inguru [ඉඟුරු, އިނގުރު].

Initial G in most of the European names of ginger is due to a Late Latin form gingiber, which is, directly or indirectly, the progenitor of today’s European names. In German, the G was lost yielding Middle High German ingber, which is conserved to this day in Yiddish ingber [אינגבער]. The Scandinavian names also lack the G and are probably loans from German or among themselves. The same holds for some West and East Slavonic names, e. g., Polish imbir, Russian and Belarusian imbir [имбирь, імбір] and Ukrainian imbyr [імбир].

Some langua­ges in South-Eastern Central Europe have an initial palatal sound (DY) in their name of ginger: Serbo­croatian and Mace­donian đumbir [ђумбир, ѓумбир], Slovak ďumbier and Hun­garian gyömbér. Probably, there is a common reason for these names, but I don’t known about it.

English ginger (Middle English gingifer, Old English gingivere) goes back to Old French gingivie which, of course, is also the source of Modern French gingembre. The Dutch form gember has conserved the initial G, probably due to influences from Romance languages.

Lastly, Arabic az-zanjabil [الزنجبيل] and Hebrew sangvil [זנגוויל] are also derived from the Indic names. From Arabic, the word was transferred to Persian (zanjabil [زنجبیل]), Kurdish (zanjafil [زةنجةفیل]), Georgian (janjapili [ჯანჯაფილი]), Tigrinya (jinjibil [ጅንጅብል]) and Uighur (sansabil). In the days of the Ottoman Turk Empire, the Turkish name zencefil spread further reaching even South East Europe, e. g., Albanian xhenxhefil and Bulgarian dzhindzhifil [джинджифил].

Zingiber officinale: Ginger inflorescence
Ginger plant with flowers

www.csdl.tamu.edu

Zingiber officinale: Ginger inflorescence
Ginger flower

kanchanapisek.or.th       © Thai Junior Encyclopedia

Despite the fact that the names of ginger in modern European tongues derive from Old Greek zingiberis [ζιγγίβερις] almost without exception, the modern Greek name is not related (see also parsley and rose for similar cases). Instead, Greek piperoriza [πιπερόριζα] is just a descriptive compound pepperroot, referring to the pungent peppery taste. A similar motivation may lay behind Armenian gojabghbegh [կոճապղպեղ] which, I deem, is composed of goj [կոճ] coil; ankle and bghbegh [պղպեղ] pepper. Interestingly, pepper-root is a name used in many Scandinavian languages for horseradish. See the latter and mugwort for more etymological explanations of root, and see long pepper for pepper.

Likewise, the original Sanskrit term shringavera [शृंगवेर] appears to have left no trace in contemporary North Indian (Aryan) languages. Instead, modern names of ginger derive from two other Sanskrit words ardraka [आर्द्रक] fresh ginger and sunthi [सुंठि] dried ginger. Descendants of these terms (usually in their original meanings) are still in use both in Aryan and Dravidian tongues of India, and even in the geographically more distant Pashto:

languagefresh, greendried
Sanskritardraka [आर्द्रक] sunthi [सुंठि]
Hindi,Dogriadrakh [अदरख] sonth [सोंठ]
Urdu adrak [ادرک]   
Pashto adrak [ادرک] sund [سونډ]
Kashmiri adrak [ادرک] shounth [شونٹھ]
Nepali aduva [अदुवा] sutho [सुठो]
Gujarati adu [આદું] sunth [સૂંઠ]
Punjabi adrak [ਅਦਰਕ] sund [ਸੂੰਡ]
Marathi ale [आले] sunth [सुंठ]
Bengali ada [আদা]   
Santali ada, adhe sut
Tamil ellam [எல்லம்] sunthi [சுண்டி]
Telugu allamu [అల్లము] shonti [శొంటి]

As an exception to the rule, Kannada shunthi [ಶುಂಟಿ] refers to ginger in general.

The Bulgarian name isiot [исиот] is a Turkish loan: ısı hot, warm and ot grass. This reference seems to point not so much to the pungent flavour then to the use of ginger in making salep, a hot beverage prepared from Orchis roots and spices. That name is also found in other South Slavonic languages, but may mean not only ginger but also other pungent plants, e. g., zedoary or chile. In Turkish, isot also means a special type of paprika powder.

Selected Links

Ilkas und Ullis Kochecke: Ingwer (rezkonv.de via archive.org) Plant Cultures: Ginger A Pinch of Ginger (www.apinchof.com) The Epicentre: Ginger Medical Spice Exhibit: Ginger (via archive.org) (via archive.org) Floridata.com: Ginger Dreampharm.com: Ginger (via archive.org) Transport Information Service: Dried Ginger Transport Information Service: Fresh Ginger Sorting Zingiber names (www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au) Ginger Product Information (spizes.com) A Ginger Nut (hum.ku.dk) Ginger: Your Food is your Medicine (Steve Foster) Rezept: Gong bao ji ding [宫保雞丁] (Hühnerstücke mit Erdnüssen) (laohu.de) Recipe: Gong bao ji ding [宫保雞丁] (Chicken with peanuts) (leitesculinaria.com) Recipe: Gong bao ji ding [宫保雞丁] (Kung pao chicken) (razzledazzlerecipes.com) Chifanle meiyou [吃饭了没有]? — Have you eaten? Cooking with Kurma: Ginger — the Miracle Herb (kurma.net) Herb Monographs: Ginger (stevenfoster.com)


Zingiber officinale: Ginger unearthed
Ginger plant with rhizome

pharm1.pharmazie.uni-greifswald.de

Zingiber officinale: Ginger pseudostems with leaves
Ginger plant
World-wide, ginger is among the most important and valued spices, as the many synonyms indicate. Today, the plant grows in tropic regions all over the world and plays part in the local cuisines. In Europe, however, it is not common, although it had been an important spice in Roman times (see silphion for more information about the taste of ancient Rome). Fresh ginger (also called green ginger) is now easily available in Western countries.

Many people like raw ginger, and it is particularly popular in China and other Far Eastern countries. Fresh ginger is grated or finely chopped, optionally soaked in water for several hours, and then added to the dish not long before serving. This kind of usage will result in a fresh, spicy and pungent taste which is best suited for salad-like preparations. Examples of this kind include Chinese salads made from boiled spinach (jiang-zhi bo-cai [姜汁菠菜]) or green beans (suan-rong jiang-dou 蒜蓉豇豆]), some Newari snacks in Nepal (see garlic for details) or the Japanese tofu salad hiya yakko [冷や奴, ひや やっこ] (see below).

If fresh ginger is cooked, it will increase in pungency but decrease in freshness. Thais add grated ginger together with many other ingredients (in the form of curry pastes) to their creamy coconut milk curries. Indonesians frequently use spice pastes based on fresh chiles and ginger to rub meat before grilling or baking (see lemon grass for a general discussion and lesser galangale for an example). Ginger tea, prepared by soaking slices of fresh ginger in black tea for a few minutes, is a spicy and healthy drink enjoyed in hot tropic climates (Indonesia), but also in the chill Himalayas (Sikkim); it may be also prepared without tea leaves, just by boiling crushed ginger in water.

On frying, the flavour of ginger changes dramati­cally; as such, it is pre­ferred in India and Sri Lanka: If chopped ginger is fried (typi­cally, together with garlic or onion), the hot and spicy taste gives way to a mellow, mild, rich flavour (see ajwain). Especially Northern Indian recipes make much use of this technique as the basis for delicious sauces to vegetable or meat dishes. During the often long cooking of these dishes, ginger blends very harmoniously with other flavours and becomes rather an unspecific background flavour.

In Chinese cookery, fresh ginger is both used boiled and fried. Food that needs a long simmering time is often flavoured with slices of ginger, because the slices release their flavour quite slowly (see orange for an example and see also cassia on Chinese master sauces). On the other hand, there are the so-called stir-fries (Chinese chao or chow []), which means that the food is cooked rapidly in very hot oil, with constant stirring; such recipes usually require finely cut or even grated ginger. In such short-fried dishes, ginger flavour remains discernible in the finished dish.

Zingiber officinale: Young ginger plant
Young ginger plant

A great and well-known recipe of the latter kind is kung pao chicken, sys­temati­cally spelled gong bao ji ding [宫保雞丁]: Chop­ped chicken breast pre­viously mari­nated in soy sauce and rice wine are stir-fried in chile-flavoured oil together with a good amount of ginger and some garlic; the dish acquires a distinct character by addition of peanuts. With its liberal usage of chiles and fresh ginger, gong bao very well illustrates the cuisine of Sichuan, China’s most spicy cooking style; see chile for another example.

Ginger has its place even in the cuisine of Japan, where it is used in small quantities only; for example, chicken is flavoured by rubbing it with juice obtained from squeezing fresh ginger rhizome. A salad or appetizer called hiya yakko [冷や奴, ひや やっこ] consists of pieces of chilled bean curd (tōfu [豆腐, とうふ]) that has an custard-like, soft texture, which are dressed with grated fresh ginger, soy sauce and green scallion slices. Japanese cuisine has two different versions of pickled ginger: Beni shōga [紅生姜, 紅しょうが, べにしょうが] is made from fresh ginger cut to thin strips and a red pickling brine which owes its pink colour to perilla leaves; it is eaten as a condiment or relish to warm foods. Another type is gari [がり, ガリ] prepared from very young ginger rhizomes, which is either pale or slightly pink; is often served with sushi (see wasabi).

Ginger, being today grown as a cash crop in both Africa and Latin America, has entered many local cuisines. Some recipes for Jamaican jerk paste (see allspice) use ginger, which is not surprising since Jamaica’s ginger is of extraordinary quality.

Zingiber officinale: Ginger inflorescence in a field in Karnataka (South India)
Ginger inflorescence
Zingiber officinale: Ginger fertile stems in a field in Karnataka (South India)
Ginger field in South India

Ginger ale is a soft drink that enjoys con­sider­able popu­larity in the USA. Like root beer (see sassa­fras), it is not a fer­mented beer, but simply sugar, plant extract and carbo­nated water. However, during the last cen­turies of the Middle Ages and the Re­nais­sance, ginger has also been used to flavour true beer, i. e., the alcoholic beverage obtained by fermenting malt; see also gale.

Dried ginger, on the other side, is rather different in taste and cannot substitute the fresh one. Dried ginger is an optional component of curry powders (see curry leaves) and even of the Chinese five spice powder (see star anise); furthermore, it appears in berbere, a spice mixture from Ethiopia (see long pepper). See greater galangale for an Indonesian recipe using dried ginger.

Dried ginger is not much used in regions where fresh ginger is traditionally available. The taste is more aromatic than pungent and has found some applications in Europe, especially for spicy crackers; it furthermore enhances the taste of tasty gravies and soups. Ginger has, however, a little bit come out of use and is seldom called for in newer cook books, but it has been retained in the French spice mixture quatre épices, which goes back to baroque cooking styles; see nutmeg for the other ingredients of this very aromatic mixture.

In Middle Eastern cooking, ginger plays only a small rôle; yet sur­prising­ly, ginger (az-zanjabil [الزـَّنـْجـَبـِيل]) makes an appear­ance in the Quran, being one of the two aro­matics of Para­dise: The blessed drink ginger-flavoured water from the fountain called salsabil [سـَلـْسـَبـِيل]. In this passage, the warming action of ginger, together with the cooling effect of camphor (al-kafur [الكـَافـُور]) symbolize the protection from cold and heat, respectively. Only few other spices are mentioned in the Quran: olive (az-zaitun [الزـَّيـْتـُون]), garlic (al-fum [الفـُوم]), onion (al-basal [البـَصـَل]) and pomegranate (ar-rumman [الرـُّمـَّان]). See the last one for a similar compilation of spices mentioned in the Bible.



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