Hobbit Ginger Beer, Snoop Partnership, Dutch Exports & Tissue Culture

Are you a fan of the Lord of the Rings? Or hobbits? Or Tolkien? If you are and you like your ginger beer then you will be interested in this. The Good George brewery in Waikato has been selected to brew a non-alcoholic ginger beer for the Green Dragon in Hobbiton. But the Green Dragon isn't real, I hear you say. Well, it is now. In the Lord of the Rings trilogy the Green Dragon pub was actually only the front, the rest didn't exist. And during the final instalment it was burned to the ground (I don't remember that!). But the Green Dragon has now been rebuilt as a real pub for the forthcoming The Hobbit film trilogy. Unfortunately, the pub is only open to those on the Hobbiton tour. (Source: Waikato Times).

Gladstone Hall, the former home of Australian ginger beer magnate William Starkey, is now on the market. If you have at least $2.4 million and fancy living in the Sydney suburb of Dulwich Hill, you can find more information here. But I am more interested in the ginger beer itself. Starkey started brewing ginger beer in Sydney in 1838 and became so successful that he eventually had the largest ginger beer factory in the southern hemisphere. I can't seem to find anything else about Starkey's ginger beer. Can anyone help?

The Naples Beach Brewery in south Florida recently received state clearance to commercially produce alcoholic beverages. One of its new beers is a mango ginger Belgian ale. Sounds very American.

A press release has announced details of a partnership between the US rapper Snoop Lion (apparently he is sometimes known as Snoop Dogg) and Reed's Ginger Brew to raise awareness of Snoop's Mind Gardens Project in Jamaica. The project's aim is to establish organic community gardens capable of producing fresh fruit and vegetables for school-aged children. Reed's founder Chris Reed has said that he wants to give something back to Jamaica as his company's successful drinks are based on traditional Jamaican-style ginger beers.

just-food has reported on the rising demand from China for traditional English cheeses including the increasing popular dessert cheeses such as white stilton with mango and ginger. It is quite likely that the ginger in these blended cheeses came from China in the first place.

I've just been reading some interesting statistics from the Centre for the Promotion of Imports, an agency of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and known by the Dutch acronym CBI. In 2010, the Netherlands accounted for 35% of all ginger imports into the EU and was the largest EU importer. Again in 2010, 65% of total ginger exports from the EU came from the Netherlands. Some of these Dutch re-exports contributed 6.8% of total British ginger imports.

So why the Netherlands? Towards the end of the 16th century Dutch traders started dealing in spices from the East. Soon after, the Dutch East India Company was formed and this lasted for nearly two hundred years. By then the Dutch spice trade, including ginger, was so well established that it continues to this day. It may seem incredible but last year the Netherlands was the world's third biggest exporter of ginger behind China and Nigeria.

The idea of the EU exporting ginger sounds strange, doesn't it? How can a region which doesn't grow ginger (or at least not commercially) actually export it? The answer is, I don't know. I can only speculate that it could be some sort of added-value or preferential rate. Can anyone enlighten me?

just-drinks has reported a fall in the losses of Castle Brands, the New York-based spirits and wine group. A contributory factor in this improvement is the rise in sales of Gosling's Stormy Ginger Beer, up 45.5% to 74,959 cases in the last quarter. You can always rely on ginger!

A new ginger breeding facility has just opened in the Malaysian state of Sabah, according to the Borneo Post. It uses in-vitro technology to produce 500 plantlets from one parent ginger plant in a process which takes six months. It is hoped that production of disease-free stock will help Sabah meet its demand for 24,000 kg a month.

A press release on PRWeb has announced the forthcoming launch of a loose leaf ginger tea blend in time for Christmas. The Tea Spot, from Boulder in Colorado, has created a blend featuring smoked black tea from China and ginger tea from Honduras. It sounds like the ideal drink for elevenses.

Ginger Recall, Codex, New Releases & Zero Waste

A YouGov poll for Very Lazy, the British cooking ingredients specialist, has found that nearly a quarter of men (24%) couldn't identify root ginger from this picture. I don't know whether to be surprised or not. I suppose I should be; then again I am biased. The corresponding figure for women is nearly one in ten (11%). So why do men find it more difficult? Discuss.

Sometimes we come across a ginger product recall but, thankfully, not too often. But last week we noted that Coop Denmark is recalling fresh ginger over fears that pesticide levels of HCH could be above permitted limits. Coop Denmark is Denmark's leading retailer operating six retail chains and subsidiaries. The Danes do like their ginger so there could be a lot of ginger being returned.

The ginger being recalled in Denmark originated in China where the government is attempting to reduce farmers use of pesticides. According to China Daily in 2007, farmers were applying 1.45 million tons of pesticides a year on a range of crops. This was almost twice the amount necessary. Regulated HCH use is still allowed in China but I have read that it has been banned in Nigeria, another major ginger producing country.

The Himalayan Times reported that Nepal is to raise the quality of ginger destined for export to meet the international Codex standard. Most of Nepal's ginger exports have normally gone to neighbouring India but this valuable avenue has now all but closed. By improving the standard of ginger, Nepal hopes to meet the import requirements of replacement countries. This change follows the recent announcement of the formation of a national ginger association to represent all interested parties.

If you are interested in the Codex standard for ginger (Codex Stan 218-1999) you can read it here. It covers everything you could possibly want to know regarding the export of ginger covering quality, sizing, tolerances, presentation and labelling.

Malaysia's Daily Express reported that the state government of Sabah, the second largest state in Malaysia, is planning to make it the largest producer of ginger in the country. The report did not mention how the government is going to achieve this but I did find news from over two years ago in Fresh Plaza which stated that ginger farmers in Sabah asked for government assistance to modernise the production process. It also stated that Sabah had to import ginger from China in order to meet domestic demand. So becoming the largest producer should mean that Sabah becomes a net exporter.

We have a number of new ginger products to report this week. We'll start with CaryTown Teas from Richmond, Virginia. This North American Tea Champion runner-up in 2010 has launched a ginger & turmeric herbal tea. The tea also contains liquorice root, orange peel and lemongrass.

Wheat beers are becoming, or have become, very popular in the USA. I've reported on a number of occasions about the increasing number of ginger wheat beers. Well, another one can be added to the list. Texas-based Faust Brewing Company has launched Holy Whit!, a summer seasonal wheat beer made with ginger & honey. I really must find one to try.

Another drink which is starting to take off both here in the UK and in the USA is ginger cider. Vermont-based Woodchuck Cidery has launched Private Reserve Ginger cider, according to Beerpulse.com. It contains organic yellow ginger from Hawaii's Big Island.

Interestingly, Hawaii is one of the few places in the world to grow organic ginger. According to Biker Dude of Puna Organics, yellow ginger comes from Japan but once grown on Hawaiian soil it ceases to be Japanese Yellow Ginger and becomes Hawaiian Yellow Ginger.

An unusual workshop took place recently in the Philippines. The Magsasaka Siyentista from WESVARRDEC (Western Visayas Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium) demonstrated to farmers a method of processing ginger with the aim of generating zero waste. This seems to be achieved by finding a use for the by-products. For example, ginger pulp, a by-product of producing ginger powder and previously just thrown away, can now be used in pastillae and jam. By the way, a Magsasaka Siyentista is a farmer scientist.

Carbon Sink, Cowpea Pest, Minimally Processed Foods & Cheap Ginger

Halewood International, maker of the famous Crabbie’s ginger beer range, is the top food & drink firm in The Sunday Times top 100 list of British private companies with the fastest growing profits. The company came in at number 41 after reporting a 70.8% increase in annual profit growth, according to Food Manufacture. The article also mentioned that the Halewood range, including Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer, is sold in 40 countries.

The Sri Lanka Ministry of Agriculture will launch a project to increase the production of a number of crops including ginger. Although the article in the Daily News mentioned that the government will provide seeds and fertilisers, it did not reveal why the project is being undertaken. It must be the next step in the initiative announced last year to make the country self-sufficient. Today's Sunday Observer reports a call from a government scientist that both Sri Lanka and Pakistan should co-operate in agricultural research to improve farmers' incomes.

The week before last, Bermuda's Royal Gazette reported that John Barritt, a well-known Bermudan drinks company, had run out of ginger beer (see last week's post). The same source has now followed that story by reporting that Gosling, an equally well-known local drinks company, would like Bermudans to know that it did not run out of ginger beer over the same period. I wonder how much rivalry there is between these two businesses?

Interestingly, The Royal Gazette has now reported that Bermuda is also suffering from a shortage of the popular Carlsberg Elephant beer following shipping delays from Denmark.

The producer of Bundaberg Ginger Beer has announced a unique carbon offset project with CO2 Group, perth now reports. Bundaberg Brewed Drinks is collaborating with Australia's largest provider of carbon sink plantings by establishing an area of eucalypt species. 'Carbon sinks' are forests which are designed to capture and store carbon.

Bad news last week for ginger farmers in Nepal, The Kathmandu Post has reported. With ginger prices in India falling, traders have just not bothered to visit Nepalese villages. Farmers are now having to dispose of large quantities of ginger at low prices. When you consider that most Nepalese ginger is exported to India, the immediate future doesn't look to good. A vicious circle, really.

I may need a bit of help with this one. The Ghanian media, including the Ghana News Agency, are reporting that the government's Food and Drugs Board has destroyed large quantities of unsafe products in the Ashanti region including Butubutu Barimansuro Ginger Gin fruit juice. What is this ginger drink and why was it destroyed?

A new recipe book was published recently which may be worth a peruse. Lemongrass and Ginger - Vibrant Asian Recipes contains dishes from many ginger-growing countries in the region so I'm guessing that there is at least a smattering of ginger recipes. As you can tell, I've haven't actually seen the book but I will keep my eye open for it in my local high street bookseller.

A report in dti news indicates that Vietnam is unable to produce enough ginger to meet domestic demand. But it appears that increasing production will not solve the problem. The current shortfall is being filled by produce from China and these imports are a third cheaper than domestic ginger.

African Journals Online (AJOL) introduced me to a fascinating potential use for ginger. Cowpeas are an important food legume crop in Africa, Asia, southern Europe and Central and South America. Unfortunately, harvested cowpeas can be difficult to store as they are susceptible to infestation by a particular type of beetle. Callosobruchus maculatus, also known as the bruchid beetle or the cowpea weevil, is such a pest that the Gates Foundation has estimated that up to 50 percent of harvested cowpeas are lost each year in Africa to infestation. The research in AJOL investigated the potential benefits of using certain botanical materials on the beetle. The materials considered were powdered ginger, garlic and bitter leaf. It seems that the efficacy of these materials depends on the variety of cowpea being tested.

The Malaysian government's Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority is about to launch its Save On Kitchen Expenses programme. This initiative, according to the New Straits Times, will see 15 grocery items, including ginger, sold at up to 30 percent off when purchased at farmers' markets.

Three weeks ago I relayed a request for help in locating a branded ginger beer bottle, an important family history object. The Lancashire Evening Post has now reported that the search is over. A beer bottle and a flagon have been located.

The Pakistan Agriculture blog last week posted an article on the use of ginger oil as an anti-microbial agent and its use in Minimally Processed Foods (MPF). The public are increasingly demanding more natural foods and MDFs are a way of satisfying this demand but the lack of an acceptable shelf life is a major concern. The ginger oil has been shown to be effective in controlling micro-organisms in certain food products with the potential for wider use.

Captain Scott, Indian Christmas Beer, Skills Shortage & Ginger Tea

Well, by now everyone must have welcomed in the New Year. I hope that all you have wished and worked for comes to fruition. I'm certainly looking forward with excitement to the coming year. Why? I'll let you know in due course.

The Telegraph revealed the Christmas menu enjoyed by Captain Scott and his team during their doomed 1911-12 attempt to be the first people to reach the South Pole. Although thwarted in their bid by Roald Amundsen, on Christmas Eve 1911 the confident team tucked into horsemeat flavoured with onion and curry powder. This was followed by an arrowroot, cocoa and biscuit hoosh (a thick stew); plum pudding; cocoa with raisins, and finished off with a dessert of caramel and ginger. If you live within easy reach of London, you may be interested in an exhibition commemorating the centenary of the polar explorers attempt which opens at the Natural History Museum on January 20th.

Occasionally I've mentioned about new ginger-spiced beers which seem to be very popular these days, particularly in the UK and USA. So I was pleased to read on livemint.com about an Indian beer brewed with the spices traditionally associated with a Christmas cake. The Biere Club, Bangalore's first craft brewery, has created a Christmas brew, with ginger amongst the ingredients, for the festive season only or until the limited run of 2,000 litres has been sold.

The other day I came across a beer called Old Danish Braggot. This has been brewed with honey and ginger from a recipe dating back to 1700 by the Dansk Mjød A/S brewery in Billund, Denmark. Incidentally, Billund is the home of Lego and well worth a visit. I've since discovered that a braggot is a type of beer made, according to Beer Advocate, by "blending spices and herbs with mead and beer to produce a strong concoction with uncommon flavours". Now there's an excuse to take the family to Legoland.

I'm not a science fiction fan so I apologise if I've discovered something which you already know. Today I read about a collection of books (which I've never read) by the American writer Harry Turtledove (who I've never heard of) which feature aliens, known as The Race, who invade Earth during the Second World War. Apparently, these aliens find ginger so addictive that it has the same effect on them as cocaine does on humans. Can anyone tell me whether ginger features heavily in the stories?

You may remember a couple of recent posts in which I referred to the Indian state of Orissa. Well, on the 1st November 2011 it changed its name to Odisha. I mention this because the following story from Orissadiary.com refers to the new name. Odisha is an important producer of ginger and there is a possibility that the state may run out of ginger farmers. A study by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), an Indian Ministry of Finance quango, has identified a shortage of 2,600,000 skilled workers by 2026 in Odisha alone. The aim of the NSDC is to provide the appropriate training to enable people to either gain employment or become self-employed. One particular area in need of assistance is ginger processing industry and the recently discovered financial benefits of adding value.

I'm sure that I read the other day about another ginger-producing country, Malaysia I believe, and the difficulties it is already facing with a shortage of English-speaking workers. What I did definitely read about Malaysia was an academic study into the chemical variations of three locally grown ginger cultivars. A team from the International Islamic University in Pahang wanted to know whether the previously detected chemical variations could be attributed to genetic factors rather than environmental or intrinsic factors. A metabolic fingerprinting exercise using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry revealed that the variations were due to genetic effects.

The Kerala state government in India has declared Wayanad an agri crisis area following the recent spate of farmer suicides. This news, briefly reported in IBNLive, also stated that farmers were expected to get assistance and relief.

BBC America carried a personal view of the drinking habits of British people, A New Year’s Guide to British Booze. If you navigate to page five of this ten page gallery you will see an entry for alcoholic ginger beer. I can confirm that alcoholic ginger beers are a big hit here in the UK and I'm sure that there will be more to come this year. And this is in addition to the renaissance in ginger-spiced real ales.

GantDaily.com, from central Pennsylvania, reported the interesting story about the effects of rising sea levels and the consequent saltwater intrusion in Vietnam's fertile Mekong Delta. This has necessitated a major rethink regarding the crops that are grown and simple farming fixes. Oxfam has piloted a small project to help farmers with hardier varieties of watermelons and introduce simple methods to save fresh water. Oxfam has now started a similar project with ginger. I must contact Oxfam for progress on this particular project.

Something that has become quite widespread but which I first picked up on China Daily was the story that Simon Cowell attributes his 'youthful looks' (not my words) to drinking ginger tea all day and a few other things. I can't be bothered to write anymore about this except to say that I'm going to start drinking ginger tea on a regular basis. Just a coincidence, I'm sure!

Chinese Ginger Varieties, New Fijian Factory & Ginger Ale Tax

Loose ginger in the fresh produce section of UK supermarkets always seem to come from China. Disappointingly for me, the labels on the packaging give no information as to the variety. It is quite likely that what I am seeing could well be either Weifang ginger or Laiwu ginger. Both of these varieties, which are highly regarded and sought after, come from central Shandong Province. Weifang ginger is the thicker of the two but I couldn't identify either of them on the basis of just seeing one.

I've often been puzzled as to why ginger ale and non-alcoholic ginger beer are taxed. Here in the UK they are both subject to value-added tax (VAT) which is a form of sales tax. I'm also annoyed that alcoholic ginger beer is taxed but that is another story. But it appears that these beverages have been taxed for many years. During the First World War the US government enacted the War Revenue Act as a way of raising extra money and encouraging thrift. This imposed a tax on soft drinks which unfortunately included ginger ale. In typical tax raising fashion, the Act was not repealed or superceded once the war had ended. Ginger ale has been taxed at State level in many parts of the USA ever since for many different reasons. In 1927, California suggested a tax to support education. Some states levy a tax as a way of tackling the obesity problem. And last year, Pittsburgh proposed a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (including ginger ale) to fund the pension scheme for the city's employees. It does seem rather unfair to group the healthy properties of some ginger ales with, say, fat-laden doughnuts.

Incidentally, I've been looking at the UK's VAT regulations to see how they affect various ginger products. Gingerbread slabs are zero-rated but a gingerbread man decorated with chocolate is taxed at the standard rate 'unless the chocolate content amounts to no more than a couple of dots for the eyes'. You couldn't make it up.

The New Sabah Times reported that ginger farmers in the state of Sabah in Malaysia have been offered a guaranteed market for part of their crop. Participating farmers in the valley district of Tambunan have signed a sale and purchase agreement with the Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (FAMA) for up to 30 tonnes of this season's harvest. FAMA will also be responsible for providing training in crop management and marketing. FAMA is a marketing agency established by the Malaysian government and operated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) ran a feature on Kaiming Qiu, a Chinese businessman, who arrived in Fiji fifteen years ago as an architectural engineer on a construction project. Once the project had finished, Qiu decided to stay on in Fiji and moved into farming. He has now just opened a FJ$0.5 million ginger processing facility which will produce powdered, crystallised and syruped ginger for the export market. This venture is part of the revival of the Fijian ginger industry which was devasted in the 1990s by a nematode infestation. The revival is being aided by the use of disease-free ginger 'seeds' through the EU-funded Facilitating Agricultural Commodity Trade (FACT) project in collaboration with the Fijian Department of Agriculture.

I've always assumed that Victorian ginger beer was an alcoholic beverage as this was the only way for people to drink poor quality water. But I couldn't understand how children could drink it as well. I've now found out that the UK Excise Tax Regulations (1855) stated that ginger beer could not have an alcohol content greater than two per cent. It was this requirement which made the drink popular with children.

Ethiopian Report, Save Rachel's Ginger, Crop Insurance & Malaysian Ginger

I was surprised to read recently that ginger has been grown in Ethiopia since the 13th century. I was even more surprised to discover that after 800 years the Ethiopians aren't that good at it. In an effort to identify and rectify production problems, two Ethiopian academics have produced a report called Production, processing and marketing of ginger in Southern Ethiopia which concludes with a number of recommendations. These cover every aspect of the ginger production life cycle including the identification of suitable varieties, improving post-harvest techniques and developing ways to market.

My wife recently received a subscribed email from Rachel's Organic, a British company who make organic dairy products. They recently (February this year I think) introduced a Special Edition Greek Style Ginger yogurt which is now coming to the end of its planned life cycle. I shall let Rachel continue with this story. "Are you ready to say goodbye to our Special Edition Organic Greek Style Ginger Yogurt? We love this one a bit too much to let go just yet, so we’re giving you the chance to decide whether you would like it to stay. Let us know what you think by heading to our Facebook page." It's up to you and me now.

The Thaindian News reported last week that the state government of Himachal Pradesh in Northern India has launched a pilot scheme to provide insurance to farmers for a range of crops including ginger. The insurance will be available for the duration of the kharif (or rainy) season. Agriculture in India is a risky business as it is always at the mercy of the weather. Farmers can cope with a typical monsoon season but occasionally they will be hit by either too much rain or too little. It is what Sir Albert Howard (a British botanist, organic farming founder and Indian government agricultural adviser) called "a gamble in the monsoons" back in 1916. The scheme being provided is Rashtriya Krishi Bima Yojna, a safety net devised in 1998 to cover a wider range of crops and a larger group of farmers. The insurance scheme could become an important and integral part of farming as the state is highly dependent on agriculture.

My copy of The Daily Telegraph yesterday contained a feature supplement about the economic, agricultural and industrial sectors in Malaysia. It said that agriculture contributes 12 per cent of that country's GDP. Most of that contribution comes from palm oil, cocoa and rubber which, between them, generate significant export revenues. When I noticed that ginger was not mentioned anywhere I decided to add a little bit of information myself about the Malaysian ginger industry. Now, I accept that raw ginger is not a major export commodity; in fact, Malaysia has been known to import ginger from Australia. But my brief research shows that Malaysia appears to be concentrating on value-added ginger products, particularly ginger oil. And the production of ginger oil has been guided by research and development projects at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. These projects originally came under the control of the Chemical Engineering Pilot Plant (Cepp) but is now known as the Institute of Bioproduct Development.