Hot Stuff
on my walk
I noticed the ginger
flowering
Shell Ginger
is a clumping ornamental ginger
called Alpinia zerumbet
sometimes referred to as
Pink Porcelain Lady
The shell ginger
has sweet bell shaped
pink and white flowers
with a bright yellow inside petal
showing red spots and stripes
The rhizome
is native to South East Asia
and grows well in this climate
The other ginger
the hot stuff
is also a rhizome
called Zingiber officinale
from the Sanskrit word siugabera
meaning shaped like a horn
In the early 1900s
ginger was planted at Buderim
a town one hour's drive
south of Noosa
on the Sunshine Coast
The ginger was used
for the domestic market
Up until that time
ginger had been imported
from China
During the war times
when supply was difficult
to obtain from China
a plantation was developed
and now the industry provides ginger
and ginger products
to 17 countries
around the world
The Buderim Ginger Factory
produces a range of ginger products
marmalades and jam
preserves
chutneys
toppings and sauces
beverages and confectionery
but my favourite
is crystalised ginger
which I love to eat
with walnuts
or almonds
Ginger is one of man's earliest medicines
It first appears
in China's Pen Tsao Ching
a classic of herbs
circa 3000 BC
and is mentioned by Confucius
for its health properties
as a carminative
aiding digestion
It is also frequently mentioned
in Greek and Roman literature
Ginger was one of the original
Silk Road products
I like to use fresh ginger in Asian cooking
drop a few slices into a pot of tea
and
on a hot day drink ginger and lime cordial
or sip an ice cold ginger beer...
and of course
there are many
wonderful baking recipes
using ground ginger
Delicious hot stuff
*
