Ginger
I’ve just finished processing some organic ginger and I wanted to share a bit about it.
Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is one of my favorite herbs to work with. Yes, ginger is considered an herb as it’s used for medicinal applications but, if you didn’t know, ginger (as we know it) is actually a root.
From the root a beautiful flowering plant is born. The flowers have pale yellow, purple, or deep red petals and the plant arises directly from the rhizome on different shoots. While the actual plant is stunning, typically, we are most interested in collecting the rhizome, or root, and using it for culinary and medicinal purposes.
Ginger is famous for its warm and spicy flavor and is most notably used to treat GI upset but there is really a lot that ginger has to offer that falls under the radar! Ginger is antiviral, anti-inflammatory, immune boosting, antioxidant, antibacterial, and so much more.
Ginger has been used as an ally in treating or helping with:
Arthritis
Motion sickness
Heartburn
Peptic ulcers
Hives
Cough
Headache
High cholesterol
Itching
Toothaches
Stomach and intestinal disorders
Menstrual problems
Migraines
Morning sickness
Auto Immune disorders
Bursitis and tendinitis
Flu and colds
Flatulence
Colorectal and ovarian cancers
Etc etc etc
There are so many ways you can utilize and adopt the healing powers of ginger into your life.
Tea
Ginger tea is delicious hot or cold and can be steeped for longer periods for stronger effects and flavor. You can use fresh or dried herb for this but arguably, fresh is best here.
Syrups
Ginger syrup is absolutely amazing on things like fruit, oats, pancakes, waffles, crepes, or just to take by the spoonful.
Minced in Honey
Mincing fresh ginger root and smothering in raw honey is a fantastic way to get those medicinal properties if you’re not the biggest fan of the spicy flavor.
Candied
Kids and adults alike love the sweet and spicy flavor explosion provided by candied ginger.
As a Culinary Spice
Throw some ground ginger into your dishes and experiment with making food thy medicine.
Extracted
Some people enjoy extracting the medicinal properties from ginger using solvents like vinegar (like in fire ciders), alcohol, or glycerine.
There are so many ways you can get this miracle root into your system, just get creative!
In the photos within this post you’ll see that I have dehydrated my ginger and stored it in a glass jar in my kitchen apothecary. I always keep ginger around and it’s one of my most reached for remedies. I use it in my digestion tincture and have a cup of ginger tea several times a week.
Do you consume ginger root regularly? If so, what is your favorite way to get it into your system?
Here is the link to the dehydrator that I use to process many of my medicinals. I know many people reach out and ask after I make these posts so I thought I would just leave a link here.