Ginger

Ginger
/jin"jeuhr/, n.
a female given name, form of Virginia or Regina.

* * *

Herbaceous perennial plant (Zingiber officinale; family Zingiberaceae), probably native to South Asia, or its aromatic, pungent rhizome, which is used as a spice, flavouring, food, and medicine.

The spice has a slightly biting taste and is used, usually dried and ground, to flavour breads, sauces, curry dishes, confections, pickles, and ginger ale. The fresh rhizome is used in cooking. The leafy stems of the plant bear flowers in dense conelike spikes. Oil distilled from the rhizome is used in foods and perfumes.

* * *

▪ plant
 (Zingiber officinale), herbaceous perennial plant of the family Zingiberaceae, probably native to southeastern Asia, or its aromatic, pungent rhizome (underground stem) used as a spice (spice and herb), flavouring, food, and medicine. Its generic name Zingiber is derived from the Greek zingiberis, which comes from the Sanskrit name of the spice, singabera. Its use in India and China has been known from ancient times, and by the 1st century AD traders had taken ginger into the Mediterranean region. By the 11th century it was well known in England. The Spaniards brought it to the West Indies and Mexico soon after the conquest, and by 1547 ginger was being exported from Santiago to Spain.

      The spice has a slightly biting taste and is used, usually dried and ground, to flavour breads, sauces, curry dishes, confections, pickles, and ginger ale. The fresh rhizome, green ginger, is used in cooking. The peeled rhizomes may be preserved by boiling in syrup. In Japan and elsewhere, slices of ginger are eaten between dishes or courses to clear the palate. Ginger is used medically to treat flatulence and colic.

      The leafy stems of ginger grow about a metre high. The leaves are 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimetres) long, elongate, alternate in two vertical rows, and arise from sheaths enwrapping the stem. The flowers are in dense, conelike spikes about 1 in. thick and 2 to 3 in. long composed of overlapping green bracts, which may be edged with yellow. Each bract encloses a single, small, yellow-green and purple flower.

      Ginger is propagated by planting rootstalk cuttings and has been under this type of cultivation for so long that it no longer goes to seed. Harvesting is done simply by lifting the rhizomes from the soil, cleansing them, and drying them in the sun. The dried ginger rhizomes are irregular in shape, branched or palmate. Their colour varies from dark yellow through light brown to pale buff. Ginger may be unscraped (with all of its cork layer); partly scraped; or scraped or peeled (with all of its cork, epidermis, and hypodermis removed).

      Ginger contains about 2 percent essential oil; (essential oil) the principal component is zingiberene and the pungent principle of the spice is zingerone. The oil is distilled from rhizomes for use in the food and perfume industries.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ginger — Gin ger, n. [OE. ginger, gingever, gingivere, OF. gengibre, gingimbre, F. gingembre, L. zingiber, zingiberi, fr. Gr. ?; of Oriental origin; cf. Ar. & Pers. zenjeb[=i]l, fr. Skr. [,c][.r][.n]gav[ e]ra, prop., hornshaped; ???ga horn + v[ e]ra… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ginger — steht für: Der Codename für den Segway Human Transporter Ginger (Vorname), ein Vorname englische Bezeichnung für Ingwer Ginger Ale, ein Getränk Ginger Beer, ein Getränk Hurrikan Ginger, ein Atlantik Hurrikan im Jahr 1971 Ginger (Band),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ginger — m, f English: 1 (m., f.) Originally a nickname for someone with red hair (or, occasionally, with a violent temper), sometimes used as a given name in the 20th century, perhaps for a child with ginger hair. 2 (f.) As a female name it may also… …   First names dictionary

  • ginger — mid 14c., from O.E. gingifer, from M.L. gingiber, from L. zingiberi, from Gk. zingiberis, from Prakrit (Middle Indic) singabera, from Skt. srngaveram, from srngam horn + vera body, so called from the shape of its root. But this may be Sanskrit… …   Etymology dictionary

  • ginger — ► NOUN 1) a hot, fragrant spice made from the rhizome of a SE Asian plant resembling bamboo. 2) a light reddish yellow colour. 3) spirit; mettle. ► VERB 1) flavour with ginger. 2) (ginger up) stimulate or enliven …   English terms dictionary

  • ginger — [jin′jər] adj. [ME gingere, gingivere < OE gingifer & OFr gingivre, both < ML gingiber < L zingiber < Gr zingiberi < Pali siṅgivera] designating a family (Zingiberaceae, order Zingiberales) of aromatic, monocotyledonous tropical… …   English World dictionary

  • ginger — /ˈdʒindʒer, ingl. ˈdʒɪndʒə(r)/ [ginger «zenzero»] s. m. inv. bibita, analcolico …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • Ginger [1] — Ginger, Insel des britischen Antheils der Virginischen od. Jungferinseln (Westindien) …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Ginger [2] — Ginger (engl., spr. Schinscher), Ingwer; daher Gingerbeer (spr. Schinscherbier) so v.w. Ingwerbier …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • ginger — (izg. džìndžer) m DEFINICIJA v. đinđer ETIMOLOGIJA engl …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Ginger — [jin′jər] n. a feminine name: see VIRGINIA1 …   English World dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”