Sunday 5 February 2012

Ginger Cocktails, Tchaikovsky, Missing Markets & Gingerbread City

Here is a drink I found this week that sounds quite interesting. It is called Ginger Rootini and is one of the signature cocktails at Om Modern Asian Kitchen in Tuscon, Arizona. Described by the Tuscon Citizen as "a must for ginger lovers", the drink is made by first grating and juicing fresh ginger, and then adding Domaine de Canton (a ginger liqueur), vodka and lime juice. I haven't tried it yet as I don't live in Tucson. And I don't have any Domaine de Canton. And I don't have any vodka either. Still, ginger and lime go nicely together.

Capital, a New York online news publication, introduced me to a fascinating story about Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and gingerbread. In May of 1891, Tchaikovsky was on his way by train to visit Niagara Falls. During a brief interlude whilst changing trains in Utica, he wrote a letter to his brother, Modest, which contained this extract "ginger bread and toy soldiers have started dancing in my head". The following year these images were presented to the world as the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from The Nutcracker.

Next week the 11th World Spice Congress will convene in Pune, India. From February 9-11, over 200 international delegates and over 250 Indian delegates will meet to discuss aspects of spice under this year's theme of "Sustainability and Food Safety: Global Initiatives". The spice industry (and we are including ginger here) has to ensure that it meets the demand for quality products on a consistent basis. Incidentally, no country produces as many different spices as India does.

I never knew until the other day that a mainstay of the family medicine cabinet, gripe water, probably contains ginger. I say "probably" as it depends on which formulation you have bought. And I was surprised to learn that after more than 150 years there is no medical evidence for the effectiveness of gripe water. But it seems to work.

Two of the most pleasing aspects of surfing the Internet, I find, are discovering things I never knew and being able to visit places I've never been to before and not likely to in the future. It was last night that I discovered the existence of the Old City district of Sana'a, the capital of Yemen. I wasn't looking for Sana'a in particular but it was gingerbread that brought it to my attention. The Old City is sometimes referred to as the Gingerbread City as many of the buildings give the appearance of having been built from gingerbread, complete with white icing. There is an impressive photo of these buildings on the UNESCO World Heritage Site website.

Last December Frankie's Olde Soft Drink Company from South Africa complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the South African retailer Woolworths copied Frankie's packaging and flavours for its own branded range of drinks. The plagiarised drinks included Fiery Ginger Beer and Homemade Ginger Beer. Last week the ASA found in favour of Frankie's because Woolworths had copied the phrase "Good Old Fashioned Soft Drinks". The ASA also ruled that “the packaging may not be used again in its current format in future”. Woolworths in South Africa is not associated with the famous F.W.Woolworth organisation.

A couple of weeks ago I commented on the doubling of the retail price of ginger in Dhaka's kitchen markets from Tk40 per kg to Tk80 per kg. Bangladesh's The Daily Sun has now reported that the price has gone up again to TK90 per kg which, according to the newspaper, is "increasing miseries in the people's lives". The price rise is being blamed on increased demand coupled with poor supply.

The previous story links quite nicely to a report in the Manipur Mail. The newspaper reported that ginger farmers in the neighbouring state of Mizoram are giving up ginger cultivation because of a lack of markets to sell their produce. I found it puzzling that Mizoram, the fourth largest ginger producing state in India, cannot sell its ginger when the state borders Bangladesh which, as we have seen, cannot meet demand. Mizoram farmers are claiming that the state government has not shown sufficient interest in ginger agriculture. Can I suggest that a Mizoram state official talks to a Bangladesh government official. The Mizoram government may also be interested to know that imports of Chinese ginger through Chittagong, Bangladesh's biggest seaport, surged in January (see The Financial Express).

Whilst researching the last story I learned that both Mizoram and Manipur are members of the Seven Sisters States, a group of contiguous states stuck out on a limb in north eastern India.

The Daily News in Sri Lanka reported that over 163,000 families in the Kandy district in the centre of the island have benefited from government agricultural assistance. 7,386 kg of ginger seed have been distributed which could produce up to 30 tonnes of usable ginger.

Here's a recipe for ginger champagne I found on the French website 1001 Cocktails. For each person, take 1 cl of vodka, 2 cl of ginger syrup and 10 cl chilled champagne. Then mix and drink. It seems ideal for Valentine's Day. Apparently it is very popular in New York.

Finally, can anyone tell me whether a ginger compress actually works. Research online tells me many things such as how to make one and what ailments it is purported to assist or cure. Personally I don't subscribe to the "releasing stagnating energy" school of thought but I can well believe that it stimulates blood flow.

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