The Joys of Ginger
Oh the stealth sweetness that is ginger. The magical rhizome with many health powers that packs an unassuming punch. This Summer, I fell in love all over again with this little warty guy…
It was the perfect summer beverage: ginger beer. It is refreshing, tingly, sweet, sour, spicy and an able bodied mixer. I experimented with dozens of varieties, stalking out every place from local bodegas to Whole Foods to find my favorite. Luckily, I was never disappointed and this elixir flowed freely in my home.
But these days, Summer’s abuse has left us for a light breeze that threatens to scream “sweater weather.” We must find our ginger in other forms.
The Chicago Tribune offers us ginger as a cookie. Truly, a noble way to consume ginger, and one that is sure to please child and adult alike.
But there are other reasons to pick up ginger on your next market run. It has long been thought that ginger aids an aching belly, calms spells of dizziness and queasiness, reduces inflammation, help with circulation and may even induce cell death in ovarian cancer, amongst other things (see whfoods.org and The Ginger People.)
Ginger is also surprisingly easy to keep fresh. I stick a whole chunk of it in a sealed plastic bag in the freezer, shaving it off as desired. Recently, while watching America’s Test Kitchen, a slightly similar method was introduced: shave your fresh ginger and slice it into 1-inch cubes, then freeze it in a sealed plastic bag. One last trick is to shave and slice your ginger and place it in a covered jar with sherry (a bonus is that you get some gingered sherry). All methods will keep your ginger fresh for months.
As mentioned above, the Chicago Tribune offered a gingersnap cookie recipe. I have also made moist pumpkin gingersnap cookies that are fabulous for the Fall holiday season.
Whatever form you find your ginger: pickled with sushi, candied in ice cream or sorbet, as a beverage, in tea, shaved into stir fry or in a holiday cookie, get a (healthy) dose of ginger before the year is through.
