Unlike the Spices treated in this series, Ginger is the root-stock of a
plant known botanically as _Zingiber officinale_, an annual herb, three
or four feet high. It is a native of India and China, but is grown
extensively in tropical America, Africa and Australia.
The plant endures a wide range of climate. It may be grown at sea level
or in mountainous regions, provided the rainfall be abundant or
irrigation adopted.
It is found cultivated from the Himalaya Mountains, 5000 feet above sea
level, to Cape Comarin.
The root is dug when the plant is a year old and after the stalk has
withered.
Black Ginger, of which Calcutta and African are the common varieties, is
produced by scalding the freshly dug roots. This prevents sprouting.
White Ginger is the decorticated product, the chief varieties being
Jamaica, Cochin and Japan. Jamaica is the most esteemed. Jamaica Ginger
is best known and most used here, although both Cochin and African
Ginger are imported in a large way.
The different varieties of Ginger are imported by McCormick & Company,
who distribute them under the Bee Brand and Banquet Brand guarantee.
Green Ginger is the undried root. That received in the United States is
the Jamaica variety.
[Illustration: McCormick’s Bee Brand Ground Ginger]