ZINGIBER OFFICINALEI HAVE FOUND many processed organic ginger products, from ginger beer to ginger snaps to food supplements, but the only fresh organic ginger I have found has been at a local farmers’ market.
One solution is to grow your own. If you live in a warm climate (where the ground doesn’t freeze), you can plant pieces of store-bought ginger root with well developed growth buds in a pot of rich soil or in the garden in the spring. It will sprout bamboo-like shoots. Keep it well watered and the root will sprout new root extensions. Harvest pieces of young, nonfibrous roots beginning after three months. The ginger will naturally die back in the fall, even if in a pot, and may rot in cold, wet, winter earth, and so digging it up and planting it in a pot stored in a warm place over the winter is a good idea. Or just use it up and start again with a new root next spring.
TYPES
Besides the familiar Zingiber officinale, there is another species called mioga or Japanese ginger (Zingiber mioga); it’s a native of Japan with good but not snappy ginger flavor. In this case it’s the swollen flower buds at the base of the leaves that you use, rather than the root (you can grow this ginger as well, in a humusy, moist soil, where winter minimums don’t get below 12 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit). You may also find Chinese Yellow Ginger root, a variety of Zingiber officinale with yellowish flesh and a strong flavor.
STORAGE
Most people put their ginger root in the butter compartment of the fridge, but it will last for several weeks longer if you moisten a paper towel, wrap the root in it, and store it in a plastic bag in the crisper.
USES
You can make your own ginger juice by coarsely grating ginger into a few folds of cheesecloth and then wringing it out firmly. You can add the juice to chocolate or vanilla ice cream, use it to baste a pork roast, or mix with mashed garlic to flavor chicken. Ginger juice also softens the fishy odors of bluefish and freshwater bass. A knob of ginger will give you a scant 1⁄2 teaspoon of juice.
Grated ginger adds a crisp bite when just a little bit is tossed with salad. Ginger, lime juice, garlic, tamari, and white wine make a perfect marinade for fish or chicken.
A sauce of grated ginger, minced garlic or scallions, and soy sauce is a classic accompaniment for many Asian foods. Much can be added to this triumvirate: toasted sesame oil, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice, coconut, galangal, onions, chiles, tamarind. But why stop at Asian food? Now that all these condiments and spices are easily available in our markets, it’s time to apply these flavors to more all-American types of dishes.
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