Ginger

Ginger is derived from the tuberous rhizome (underground root) of the perennial plant Zingiber officinale of the family Zingiberaceae. Also referred to as Jamaica ginger, African ginger, or Cochin ginger, ginger has been used as a spice, condiment and flavoring agent. For nearly 2,500 years ginger has also played an important role in Asian medicine as a folk remedy to promote cleansing of the body through perspiration, to calm nausea, and to stimulate the appetite. Ginger tea was also used as a carminative (agent which expels gas from the intestines) and in the symptomatic treatment of colds when given at their onset. It has been used in China and other countries for many years as a tonic.

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; 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.

Sesame Seed Market

The sesame seed market is divided into three sections. The largest part is the Far East, dominated by the huge Japanese demand for sesame seed oil used for cooking.

The main Western market features the use of sesame seeds on hamburger buns, which calls for a very high-grade, white seed which is hulled and polished. To meet US demand, Guatemala has specialised in growing and processing this type of seed. The price has been very high for this product - about three times the price of unhulled, mixed seed from Africa.

The Middle East market is influenced by demand for traditional uses including bread coverings and tahini, baklava and cooking oil. The region, including India, is a large producer of sesame and some countries, especially Arab nations, still needs to import, mainly from India, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Eritrea and Nigeria.

Crops are harvested in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal.

Sesame is also called Benne, an erect, annual plant (Sesamum indicum) of numerous types and varieties belonging to the family Pedaliaceae, cultivated since antiquity for its seeds, which are used as food and flavouring and from which a prized oil is extracted.

The whole seed is used extensively in the cuisines of the Middle East and Asia. Halvah is a confection made of crushed and sweetened sesame seeds. In Europe and North America the seeds are used to flavour and garnish various foods, particularly breads and other baked goods. The aroma and taste of sesame seed are mild and nutlike.

The chief constituent of the seed is its fixed oil, which usually amounts to about 44 to 60 percent. Noted for its stability, the oil resists oxidative rancidity. It is used as a salad or cooking oil, in shortening and margarine, and in the manufacture of soaps, pharmaceuticals, and lubricants. Sesame oil is used as an ingredient in cosmetics. The press cake remaining after the oil is expressed is highly nutritious.

Probably originating in Asia or East Africa, sesame is now found in most of the tropical, subtropical, and southern temperate areas of the world. Before the time of Moses, the Egyptians used the ground seed as grain flour. The Chinese used it 5,000 years ago, and for centuries they have burned the oil to make soot for the finest Chinese ink blocks. The Romans ground sesame seeds with cumin to make a pasty spread for bread. Once it was thought to have mystical powers, and sesame still retains a magical quality, as shown in the expression “open sesame,” from the Arabian Nights tale of “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”

Depending on conditions, varieties grow from about 0.5 to 2.5 m (2 to 9 feet) tall; some have branches, others do not. One to three flowers appear in the leaf axils. The hulled seeds are creamy or pearly white and about 3 mm (0.1 inch) long and have a flattened pear shape. The seed capsules open when dry, allowing the seed to scatter. Considerable hand labour is needed in harvesting to prevent loss of the seeds. With the development of a nonscattering variety of the plant in the mid-20th century, mechanized harvesting of the crop was made possible.

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