Ginger

:This article refers to the plant species Zingiber officinale. For other "Ginger" articles, see Ginger (disambiguation).

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Ginger root is used extensively as a spice in many if not most cuisines of the world. Though called a root, it is actually the rhizome of the monocotyledonous perennial plant Zingiber officinale. The active constituent of fresh ginger is gingerol, a relative of capsaicin. When ginger is dried, the gingerol molecules are converted into the much more pungent shogaols. Cooking ginger transforms gingerol into zingerone, which is less pungent and has a spicy-sweet aroma.(1)

Related Topics:
Spice - Root - Rhizome - Monocotyledonous - Perennial - Gingerol - Capsaicin - Zingerone - (1)

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