Ginger (Sheng Jiang) (Rhizome, flat, yellowish-white, with nodes, glossy)
Sheng Jiang Slices (Yellow, juice oozing)
Dried Ginger (Flat, branching, grayish-white, with obvious longitudinal wrinkles and nodes)
Peeled Dried Ginger
Powdered Dried Ginger (Lower right, poor quality)
Powdered Dried Ginger Slices (Firm, sufficient powder, spicy and fragrant)
Dried Ginger Slices
Northern Dried Ginger Slices (No sulfur fumigation)
Stir-fried Dried Ginger Slices
Stir-fried Dried Ginger
Black Ginger (Pao Jiang)
Pao Jiang Slices
Black Ginger Slices
【Naming】
【Common Usage Level】
A
【Botanical Source】
The rhizome of ginger Zingiber officinale Rosc. (family Zingiberaceae). Due to different harvesting times and processing methods, it is divided into Sheng Jiang (fresh ginger) and dried ginger, but the original plant is the same species. The underground rhizomes are dug up in summer and autumn, the stems, leaves, and fibrous roots are removed, washed, and sun-dried or dried over low heat to obtain dried ginger.
【Characteristics】
Fresh rhizome is a flat, irregular block with branching, and the ends of the branches have stem scars or buds, 4~10㎝ long and 1~2㎝ thick. The surface is grayish-brown or grayish-white, and rough. It has longitudinal wrinkles and obvious nodes. It is brittle, and juice oozes out after breaking.
Prepared slices:
1. Sheng Jiang slices: The surface is grayish-white or grayish-yellow, with fine wrinkles and obvious ring-shaped nodes. The cut surface is yellowish-white, with small oil spots, and there is a clear ring on the outer layer. It has a unique aromatic odor and a spicy taste.
2. Dried ginger slices: The surface is grayish-white or grayish-yellow, with obvious fine longitudinal wrinkles and obvious ring-shaped nodes. The texture is firm, the cut surface is light yellowish-white, rough, with fibrous vascular bundles exposed, and small oil spots. It has a special aromatic odor and a spicy taste.
3. Charred dried ginger: It is a 2~3㎝ long segment, with a scorched outer layer and a deep yellow inner layer, crispy and easy to break, with a very light spicy taste.
【Processing】
1. Sheng Jiang (fresh ginger) 2.煨薑 (Warmed Ginger) 3. Dried ginger 4. Charred ginger (Pao Jiang)
【Identification】
“Sheng Jiang should be thinly sliced, not damp or spoiled, and those soaked in water are good.” (Waì Tái Mì Yào). “Good dried ginger is white and firm.” (Rén Shù Biàn Lǎn). “The best is thick-fleshed, white and clean, solid and bright like Tian Ma.” (Zēng Yào Biàn). “Mother ginger that is well-developed, fat, white inside, spicy and fragrant, and fresh in color is the best; dark-colored, thin and lean, and rooted ones are useless.” (Liáng Liè Jiàn Bié).
Good quality is dry, white, high in powder content, spicy, not moldy, large, plump, and tender. Old ginger has more fiber, a strong aroma, and a spicy taste, while young ginger has less fiber and a less spicy taste.
【Identification Terminology】
1. Jian Dried Ginger: refers to dried ginger produced in Qianwei, Sichuan, which is white, high in powder content, spicy, and of good quality.
【Chapter】
Rhizomes