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Ginger Ginger is to Asian cooking what onion is to ours. Usually called ginger root, it is actually a rhizome, a tuberlike stem that grows underground like a gnarled hand. In some recipes, we are asked to provide a finger from a hand of ginger. A stunning direction when you actually think about it. In
the book, “Savoring Spices and Herbs,” Julie Sahni describes ginger as
having a spicy camphoric flavour and peppery scent reminiscent of cloves and
lemon, cedar and mint. It gives chicken and fish a fresh life and is capable of
cutting the fattiness in duck and pork while exaggerating the sweetness of root
vegetables and squash. When
ginger is slowly cooked, it tends to mellow other flavours and generally will
act as a tenderizer, adding a generous warmth to everything in the pot. There is
an enzyme in ginger called protease which digests protein enabling it in a
marinade to soften and tenderize meat. Of
more interest, however, is ginger's capacity to enhance food that is either
sweet or savory. It is a rare flavouring that can achieve that. Gingerbread,
carrot cake, banana bread and pumpkin pie all rely on the flavour of ground
ginger which is spicy and warm, a much different taste from fresh ginger. When
you buy ginger, look for unblemished skin and a solid though not absolutely
stiff feel. The larger the hand, the older and more intense the flavour. Young
ginger,which is grown here in Ontario, comes in the late spring and early
summer, has a milder flavour and smaller tubers. Among
purists, to chop ginger is to peel and cut the hand into slivers; to mince it is
to chop it still finer, while mining is always done across the fibers and as
thinly as possible. Ginger should be pounded in a mortar and pestle as opposed
to a blender. Ginger,
like the inner child, never dies. It can be kept, wrapped in paper towels and
then plastic, for up to three weeks. After that, both the flavour and the
texture will dissipate. But if the base of the hand is cut and planted, it will
sprout large elegant leaves, and eventually, yellow and red flowers to rival any
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