We all need a bit of ginger in our lives. Both warming and soothing, its perky heat is especially welcome in the chill New Year when colds (and worse) lurk, ready to cosh us just as we are feeling depleted. Even holding a smooth, weighty chunk of fresh ginger, a “hand” as multi-knobbed pieces are known in the trade, is reassuring in its solidity.
It seems there is nowhere, and no time, that ginger isn’t recognised as beneficial. In ancient Ayurvedic medicine, ginger is known as the “universal medicine”. The Stuart herbalist and physician Nicholas Culpeper said of ginger, it “helps digestion, warms the stomach, clears the sight”.
Food writer Ching He Huang says that in Chinese medicine, ginger helps circulation and is particularly good for the lungs and the spleen. Its benefits don’t come simply from eating, either, she adds. “Ginger can be warmed by burning and when rubbed against the temple can relieve headaches, migraines and sickness.” Sometimes the power is verging on spiritual. When I travelled to Arunachal Pradesh in the far north east of India, close to the border with Myanmar, the local people kept pieces of a rare kind of bitter ginger tied to a string around their neck, to ward off illness.
As for the modern science, there are plenty of studies which suggest that ginger may be beneficial, including against cancer. True, there is nothing conclusive, no hard and fast evidence. This lack of proof doesn’t mean it isn’t helpful, and the continued use in traditional medicine would imply that it is. It’s simply that, as with most foodstuffs, there is little incentive for companies to fund expensive trials on an ingredient that is widely available, rather than a medicine under patent.
As a cook, I’m happy to focus on how good ginger tastes – enough to boost my sense of wellbeing in itself. But first some biology. Smooth and knobbly, root ginger isn’t a root at all but a rhizome, or swollen stem, from the same family as both turmeric and galangal, the fragrant “root” of Southeast Asian cookery.
While shops won’t specify the variety, there are a multitude of kinds of ginger, and you may notice differences in flavour from one batch to another, a faint bitterness perhaps, or a more floral quality. Some are distinctly hotter than others, so as with chillies it is worth tasting a scrap before adding it gung ho to a dish. In Asia, you can buy young root ginger, very fresh with a tissue-fine skin, and juicy, barely fibrous flesh that has a milder flavour. This is the best ginger for pickling or slicing thinly to eat in a salad so snap it up if you find it in an Asian supermarket. It has a paler colour and sometimes a pink tinge to the tips. Always choose the fattest “hands”, tight in their satiny skin, and don’t bother with wrinkled specimens.
Whatever kind you have, it will brighten January dishes with a perky heat and beguiling flavour, as well as being good for you – probably.
Different ways of cutting fresh ginger
Young fresh ginger may not need peeling, unless you are making a very refined dish. If you do want to peel it (and older rhizomes have tougher skin) then use the tip of a teaspoon to scrape the skin off less wastefully than using a knife or vegetable peeler.
The woody fibres in ginger get more pronounced the older the ginger is, and run along the length. Slice the ginger crossways, through the fibres, into coins or “planks” which are good for adding to broths for flavour.
To make matchsticks for stir fries, which will add a texture as well as bursts of flavour, stack up the slices and cut them across into elegant strips.
Cut across again to make tiny dice, a more discreet way of adding ginger flavour, good for ginger cakes.
Grate ginger for fast flavour – stand the grater on a plate so that the juice isn’t lost.
For pure flavour, squeeze cubes of fresh ginger in a garlic press to extract the juice.
How to store fresh ginger
A “hand” of fresh ginger doesn’t last more than a few days in the fridge, and less in the fruit bowl, before it goes wrinkled. Elizabeth David, doyenne of food writers, recommends peeling fresh ginger then storing the pieces in a jar of sherry. This must have been useful in a time before most houses had a reliable freezer, and you get gingery sherry as a bonus – use it instead of rice wine in stir fries.
These days, many chefs recommend pureeing ginger in a liquidiser with a splash of water. Store in a jar in the fridge with a layer of oil on top for up to a month, or freeze the pulp in covered ice cube trays for up to six months. (Mix 50:50 with garlic puree for a handy base for many Indian dishes.)
I’m lazier still, simply putting the whole ginger in a freezer bag and tossing it in the freezer. When I need some, I grate it straight from frozen – no need to peel – and put the used portion back in the freezer. This is no good for matchsticks or neat dice though, as it goes soggy as it defrosts.
More good mood foods
Garlic
The Ancient Egyptians fed garlic to the workers building the pyramids to boost their productivity, and in Medieval times it was used to treat headaches. Recent studies suggest that it may be effective on migraines, as well as reducing blood pressure and stimulating your body’s production of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which helps reduce stress. Add whole cloves when cooking pulses and grains, and mash them into the finished dish for flavour without the pong.
Turmeric
The yellow-staining spice is unusual in that it’s a food that does have conclusive evidence that it’s good for you. Along with well documented anti-cancer and antioxidant qualities, the active ingredient curcumin may reduce the “stress hormone” cortisol, helping us feel more chilled, as well as boosting the effect of feel-good hormones serotonin and dopamine. Turmeric’s mild flavour and appetising colour mean that there’s a good argument for making like many South Asian cooks, and adding a dash to just about everything.
Sardines
Packed with omega-3s, essential for good brain health and thought to be effective against mood disorders, sardines aren’t tainted by the sustainability issues around farmed salmon or the concerns of mercury contamination in larger fish. A tin of sardines will set you up with 2.7g of combined EPA and DHA (from omega-3s), more than three quarters the weekly amount recommended by the British Heart Foundation (yes, they are great for your heart too). Try frying a tin of sardines in oil with a teaspoon of fennel seed and a pinch of chilli flakes, stirring to break up the fish. Season and mix with pasta or (for a low-carb option) steamed cabbage.
Rhubarb
Yorkshire forced rhubarb is in season, and it’s not just a pretty pink colour. Rhubarb has been used for centuries to treat constipation – which is enough to boost anyone’s mood. It’s far less mouth- puckering raw than cooked: try it as a savoury salad, sliced wafer thin and mixed with thinly sliced cucumber and watercress, then dressed with salt, lemon juice and olive oil, plus fresh mint leaves.
Sally Clarke’s ginger and mint tisane
This simple but pleasingly specific recipe for a soothing herbal brew comes from chef Sally Clarke’s book First Put on Your Apron (£30 from bookshops and sallyclarke.com). “There is no beating a hot, steaming cup of fresh ginger and mint after a meal, especially at night,” she writes. “It not only aids digestion but also sleep.” (Daily Telegraph UK)
