Crabbie's In US, Extended Shelf Life, Storage & Sponsorship

Let's start this week with our old friend, Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer. Halewood International has announced that it is to launch the drink in the US and Canadian markets, according to Drinks Business Review. The report added that the drink will be launched initially in New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington DC, California, Illinois, Texas, Kentucky, Ohio and Wisconsin. So keep your eyes open for it.

Yesterday (Saturday) saw the official release of an unusual but interesting beer at an equally unusual but interesting event. The Boxcar Brewing Company from West Chester, Pennsylvania, hosted an old-fashioned train ride in 1950s rolling stock which transported participants to a pig BBQ with blues and rock music, and the launch of the brewery's new 7% abv Mango Ginger IPA. If you have any comments about the beer or took any pictures, let me know and I will feature them in a future post. Incidentally, the beer can be found at this week's famous annual Philadelphia beer festival, Beer Week.

Here in the UK we are in the midst of Diamond Jubilee celebrations. And the Retail Times informs us that Firefly Natural Drinks has joined in by releasing a limited edition design for its Rule Britannia tonic. This blend of apples, blackberries and ginger can now be found in a bottle covered with the Union Jack and cheekily set off with a corgi image on the gold cap.

Border Biscuits is a Scottish maker of gourmet and specialist biscuits. From a range of 31 products, the company's best seller is Dark Chocolate Ginger. According to Scotland Food & Drink, sales for the first five months of this year increased by a very impressive 65%, driven partly by a combination of new packaging and additional listings, and partly, I like to think, by the fact that it is ginger. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what these biscuits are like as I've never been able to develop a taste for dark chocolate.

I think that Cott Beverages must have taken a leaf out of the Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer book of marketing. Crabbie sponsors the British Comedy Awards and last Christmas also sponsored ITV programmes. According to just-drinks, this summer will see Cott Beverage's Old Jamaica Ginger Beer sponsor live comedy shows on the Comedy Central TV channel. Those clever people in marketing must have discovered a link between ginger and humour. Is it the feel-good factor? You can make it this week's topic to discuss.

Fresh Plaza reports that the Brazilian ginger harvesting season will start in one or two months. Exporters are expecting a very good season for a product which is shipped to the UK, US (during Hawaii's off-season), Italy France and the Netherlands. Brazilian ginger is dearer than the widespread Chinese ginger but is preferred by some consumers for its superior flavour.

Like many Asian countries, Nepal has a constant battle with drug producers and smugglers. The Himalayan Times reported last week that a smuggler posing as a vegetable farmer was caught with 101 kg of hashish hidden in six consignments of ginger, destined for abroad.

I've actually found a ginger scientific research paper which I have been able to read and, for the most part, actually understand. The Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science has just published a paper called "The effect of ginger and garlic on the microbial load and shelf life of Kunun-zaki". The research was undertaken by a team from the Department of Microbiology at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture in Umudike, Nigeria. Kunun-zaki is a popular non-alcoholic drink in Nigeria and is made from fermented millet, sorghum, guinea corn and maize, and flavoured with ginger. The aim of the research was to determine whether treating kunun-zaki with ginger, garlic and a combination of both could reduce the microbial population and extend the shelf life. The researchers found that although garlic on its own was the most effective in reducing the microbial population, the combination of both ginger and garlic extended the shelf life by up to four days. I wonder what other drinks this could apply to?

The Jamaican Gleaner carried a short but informative article about that bane of ginger farmers' lives - rhizome rot. So wherever you are, if you think that you may be affected, read this article.

It's that time of the year again when The Financial Express comments on the cultivation of ginger in the Bangladeshi district of Nilphamari. It's that time when farmers are still optimistic. Nilphamari is subdivided into six upazilas and all of these produce ginger. The district used to provide 80% of the country's total ginger requirements but in recent years has only produced around 50%.

Here is a tip from the People's Daily Online. Harvested ginger is liable to dry out in winter and deteriorate in summer. So the solution is to bury the ginger in wet sand in a flowerpot and leave it there until required.

Each May (and I'm a little late with this story), the people of Sabah in Malaysia celebrate their harvest festival (or Kaamatan). Part of the festival is the legend of Kinoingan who is revered as the god or creator. The legend begins with the premise that in the distant past seeds did not exist. So Kinoingan sacrificed his only daughter in order to provide seeds to grow food. Why is this of interest to me? Well, various parts of the daughter's body provided the required seeds. Her head gave the people coconuts, her teeth created maize and her fingers and toes resulted in ginger.

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.