Ginger (Digestive) has been cultivated for thousands of years in China and India and is still most widely cultivated in the East. It was brought to America in the 16th century by the Spanish. At one point it was second only to pepper as the most common English spice.
Ginger is very popular in the food industry as an additive to ginger ale, candies, pastries and cakes. Its uses, of course, aren't confined to food preparation. It was written about in many ancient Chinese herbal texts and is an ingredient in as many as half of all Chinese herbal combinations. The Chinese use it to buffer the effects of stronger herbs, and they drink it widely in tea.
Ginger nutritionally supports the digestive process. The root has a strong, sweet scent. It contains protein, fat, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassium, vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and ascorbic acid.
Chinese Ginger is mainly exported to Japan with about 100,000 tonne being sent last year. China has become the world's biggest exporter of Chinese green onion, ginger and garlic, with export volume topping 60,000 tons, 150,000 tons and 1.25 million tons in 2006, respectively accounting for 90 per cent, 68.2 per cent and 80 per cent of the world's total, China's planting area of Chinese green onion, ginger and garlic reached 540,000 hectares, 240,000 hectares and 770,000 hectares respectively in 2006...
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