Ginger is the dried, knotty fibrous rhizomes or tubers—“races” or “hands” as they are called from their irregular, palmate form—of the ginger plant (zinziber officinale) the real roots being the thin fibers that branch off from the rhizomes.

The plant is a native of Asia, but also found growing wild in Mexico and East Africa. It is a reed-like biennial plant, not unlike the iris or flag in appearance. The leaves are long, similar to those of maize, growing alternate on a stem 3 to 4 ft. high. The flowers are borne on a separate stem, 6 to 12 in. high; they are yellow or blue, according to the quality of the soil in which they have been grown. The plant which produces the yellow flower and best ginger is grown on rich, deep, virgin soil; the other comes from poorer ground. Ginger is propagated by pieces of the rhizome being planted in March. The flowers appear about September, after they have withered and seeded. The roots are dug up about January. When left too long in the ground, the rhizomes become very fibrous, if taken up too soon they are tender and succulent, so much so that they cannot be made sufficiently dry to render them fit for export in the usual commercial form. They are therefore preserved in sugar. The rhizomes, besides being classed as “yellow” or “blue,” are also divided into “plant,” (being the rhizomes from plants of the same season’s growth), and “ratoon” which are rhizomes left in the ground from the previous harvest.

Ginger is known in commerce in two distinct forms, termed respectively as coated or uncoated ginger,—as having or wanting the epidermis. For the coated ginger, the races of hands, after being dug up, are thoroly washed to free them from all the adhering earth. They are then laid on a canvas or cement floor, outdoors, to dry by the heat of the sun. At night they are taken indoors. It takes from 6 to 8 days to thoroly dry them. They are then ready for shipment. In damp weather they are artificially dried by an evaporator. In this form ginger presents a brown, more or less wrinkled or straited, surface, and when broken up shows a dark brownish fracture, hard, and sometimes horney and resinous. For the uncoated ginger the fresh-dug rhizomes, after being washed, are soaked in water for some time and then peeled or scraped—a most delicate operation requiring the hand of an expert. Owing to the peculiar formation of the races, no machine has yet been invented that will do the work satisfactorily. The outer rind or skin is deftly taken off by means of a common knife, so as not to injure the inner root, as a loss of the pungent volatile oil, to which ginger owes its value, would follow and thus impair its commercial worth. After being peeled the races are soaked in water over night. In the morning they are again washed, cleaned and weighed, and then dried in the same manner as coated ginger.

It requires 3 lbs. of green root to make 1 lb. of dry root. The purer the water the whiter the ginger. Sometimes lime juice is added to the wash water, which gives a whiter root, but as lime juice contains sugar, it prevents thoro drying and mildew follows. Ginger is often subjected to a system of bleaching, or by immersion for a short time in a solution of chlorinated lime. The white-washed appearance which much of the ginger has is due to the fact of its being washed in whiting and water or even coated with sulphate of lime. Uncoated ginger varies from single joints an inch or less to flattish, irregularly branched pieces of several joints, the races of hands, and from 3 to 4 in. long. Each race has a depression on the summit showing the former attachment of a leafy stem. The color, when not white-washed, is a pale buff. It is somewhat rough, breaking with a short, mealy fracture, and presenting on the surface of the broken parts numerous short or bristly fibers.

The best ginger grown comes from Jamaica. It is of a superior strength, fine flavor and a light, handsome color. A peculiar trade custom prevails in Jamaica with regard to ginger, which is not sold by weight or measure but by the “heap,” and the size of the heap governs the price and is an indication, to a certain extent, of the quality and quantity of the crop. If the heap is small, the price is high; if the heap is large, then the price is lower. If the races or hands, are finely shaped and large, there are fewer in the heap; if small, dark and mealy, the heap is made larger.

The next best quality is Borneo or Cochin ginger, which closely resembles in appearance the Jamaica. It is not, however, so carefully prepared.

African ginger, also termed Bombay or Calcutta, from the ports of shipment, is darker in color, has a coarser appearance, a harsher flavor and inferior aroma to either of the above, but contains a greater amount of oleoresin than they do and is very pungent. It is largely used for making ginger beer, essences, extracts, etc.

Leaf ginger is ginger that has been sliced into thin flakes.

Green ginger root, is that which has not undergone any process of cleaning beyond freeing it from the earth adhering. Imported in casks and used by wine makers, preservers, etc. Spent-ginger is whole ginger that has once been used, then fixed up to resemble good ginger and sold whole or ground. It does not possess a single one of the valuable properties of genuine ginger.

China ginger is not imported in a dried state, the rhizomes being too tender and succulent to thoroly dry for export. It is preserved or candied. For preserving, the rhizomes are first scalded, then washed in cold water and peeled, then boiled in pans for 2 or 3 hours; then transferred to copper pans and boiled for 2 hours in a mixture of sugar and water—just sufficient water to cover the roots, 5 lbs. of sugar to 10 lbs. of ginger, the roots having been pierced with a sharp instrument to enable the sugar to soak into them. After boiling the ginger is put into large jars and stands for several days, when it is again boiled in sugar and water in the same quantities. After it has become cold it is packed in jars or tins for export. To crystallize, the same process is gone thru, only in the final boiling it is boiled until the sugar become dry.

The Chinese season for preserving ginger is from July to October. It is nearly all prepared in Canton and Hongkong. A kind known as Ng Mai Keunig is preserved in Swaton, from Alpina galanga, but it is not like the Canton or Hankou ginger and is only made for native consumption, to be used medicinally or for cooking. Some of it goes to the Straits Settlement, but none to Hongkong. Jamaica preserved ginger is mostly put up in glass bottles. The uses of ginger are too well known to need repeating.