Korean Ginger, Rhubarb Shortage, Wheat Beer & Indian Workshop

I was pleased to read that ginger features in yet another flavour trends report for 2012. This time it is a honey ginger combination which appears in the top 10 beverage flavours predicted by Bell Flavors & Fragrances. Bell also predicts that Korean, Cajun and Greek will be the emerging cuisines this year. Bell is an international company which supplies flavours, fragrances, botanicals and anything else which stimulates the human senses.

It was only after reading about Bell's predictions that I realised that I didn't know much at all about Korean ginger apart from the fact that ginger is grown on the Korean peninsular. So what have I found this week? Well, ginger features prominently in Korean cuisine which is said to be heavily influenced by Chinese and Japanese dishes. Apparently, more ginger is grown in North Korea than South Korea although I don't know how one can access North Korean agricultural data. But we can see the figures for South Korea from the United Nations' FAOSTAT database on Mongabay. These figures show that during the 1961-2009 period ginger production peaked in 1995 but has dropped quite dramatically since then. Why? That's something for me to find out. South Korea now imports ginger from China.

The fact that ginger is used in Cajun cuisine doesn't come as a surprise as my understanding is that Cajun cooking wouldn't be Cajun without a bit of a 'kick'. And ginger can certainly deliver that. I've never really taken an interest in Greek cuisine so I can't say whether ginger is used or not. But I can say that ginger was used in Ancient Greece. Pedanius Dioscoridesa, a Rome-based Greek physician, pharmacologist and botanist, said that ginger could be used as a digestive aid (as today) and as an antidote to poisoning (don't know about that one).

Good news for ginger farmers in Thailand as Fresh Plaza reported that the annual harvest is well underway and that the price and quality appear to be the best for many years. Thai ginger, which is harvested from December to March, is known for having a mild flavour along with many other Thai herbs and spices. The majority of Thai ginger farms are in the north of the country which escaped the ravages of the recent flooding.

Off to Bangladesh now and the report in Reflection News regarding the rising price of ginger in Dhaka's wholesale and retail kitchen markets. Ginger is now being sold for Tk80 per kg compared to Tk40 per kg just two months ago. The increase is being blamed on a fall in domestic production this season. I get the impression that Bangladesh does not produce enough of its own ginger at the best of times as the country needs to import additional produce from Burma. Incidentally, Bangladeshis tend to use ginger more as a condiment rather than a spice.

Bad news for British ginger lovers last week as The Scotsman reported on the possibility of a shortage of rhubarb this year. I don't know about other countries but in the UK ginger and rhubarb are a match made in heaven. The report said that there is panic in the rhubarb triangle. If you've never heard of it before, the rhubarb triangle is an area in Yorkshire bounded by Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield which is known nationally for producing the finest forced rhubarb. A surrounding low-rising mountain range called The Pennines normally creates the required frosty growing conditions but this winter has been unhelpfully mild so far. So keep your fingers crossed for a sudden plunge in temperature but just in Yorkshire.

The Nashville Post reported a new development at the quirkily named Fat Bottom Brewing. This spring should see the launch of an unfiltered wheat beer infused with ginger. Owner Ben Bredesen said that this currently unnamed beer has "definitely got that ginger spiciness, but the taste is much closer to a pale ale". Ben left the software industry (my previous career as well) to concentrate on brewing full time. I hope Ben doesn't mind me showing you the brewery logo.

Regatta Ginger Beer has been named as the Official Ginger Beer for Quantum Key West 2012, a major sailing event in Florida. I've never tried Regatta Ginger Beer (a thoroughly nice drink, I believe). I've never been to Florida (a thoroughly nice place to visit, I believe). I've never even been sailing (a thoroughly exciting activity, I believe) even though I live by the sea. But I wouldn't mind going to this event (hint, hint).

Nepal is a founding member of SAARC(South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation). This organisation exists to promote collective self-reliance in the fields of economic, technological, social and cultural development. According to The Himalayan Times, Nepal has identified ginger as one of 19 product and services with maximum export potential. Ginger will now have the power of the SAARC trading bloc behind it when looking for new export opportunities.

Anyone who’s anyone in the world of Indian spice attended a one-day spice workshop in Kochi last Friday. Attendees included representatives from the farming community, exporters, traders and scientists. The workshop started from the premise that global demand for spices was increasing and that India must retain its position as world leader in spices. According to The Hindu Business Line the workshop concluded by acknowledging that India must face the challenges posed by a shortage of spices available for export. It continued that the shortfall has been caused by a combination of smaller harvests and quality issues. To combat this the workshop recommended a complete overhaul of the supply chain from researchers and farmers through to exporters and consumers. Five major spices with high export potential were identified - black pepper, cardamom, turmeric, nutmeg and ginger. As we've seen from this blog, the world of ginger exports is extremely competitive. At times it can appear to be so complicated and convoluted.

And to finish this week I would like to wish our Chinese readers a happy and prosperous Chinese New Year.

Hangover Remedy, Keeping Warm, Gingerbread Houses, Wassail & Toothache

I've mentioned before about the benefit of drinking ginger tea or infusion to reduce the effects of a hangover. Adelaide Now has now also advocated ginger as one of three natural hangover remedies for the forthcoming party season. It states that "It’s soothing for the digestive tract and helps relieve nausea. Try chilled ginger tea with lemon or add fresh ginger to a vegie juice." The only problem I had with the article was the comment that the warm weather in South Australia is well and truly here. I feel really envious especially as I had to scrape frost of my windscreen early this morning! Anyway, I hope that I don't have to give it a try.

Last week The Korea Herald carried an article about traditional Korean medicine in which a lecturer at Pusan National University’s School of Korean Medicine claims that drinking ginger tea in the winter "warms the body". I don't know much about Korea (both north and south) apart from what I learned from watching MASH on television. It seems that winter in North Korea can be quite nippy so the lecurer may be on to something. Maybe I should have had a ginger tea before removing the frost this morning.

Building gingerbread houses is a very popular activity in the USA. There doesn't seem to be a week without a town or city somewhere hosting a gingerbread competition or exhibition. Yesterday it was Houston's turn with its third annual Gingerbread Build-Off. This competition, to quote the Houston Business Journal, "tests the skills of teams of local architects, designers, bakers and gingerbread enthusiasts who come together to design and build a unique cookie sculpture." Hopefully I will be able to share the results with you next week. I know that the art of building gingerbread houses started life in some northern and central European countries but it has never taken off here in the UK although I am beginning to see an increase in gingerbread house paraphernalia in many shops over recent Christmases.

The Nigerian National Daily reported on an exhibition and seminar organised by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council and the Japanese External Trade Organisation. The theme of the seminar was "Market Access to Japan: Spices and Food Related Products". A Japanese food expert said that Nigerian food products were among the "best and of the highest quality grade". The expert went on to identify ginger as one of the Nigerian spice products which could "break easily into the Japanese market". I don't agree that it would be easy as Nigerian ginger would have to compete with exports from India and Thailand, both hardened and seasoned traders.

Last week's story of Jamaica's failure to win a major ginger export deal with a leading US soft drinks manufacturer has been questioned by the Jamaican government. The Gleaner, which carried the original story, has published the Ministry of Agriculture's response. It contains detailed rebuttals of the claims in the original article such as the ministry is seeking to match potential customers to the unique chemical composition of Jamaican ginger, and that the current export level is limited by the availability of disease-free planting material. An interesting article in its own right.

I've just read that the Great Basin Brewery from north Nevada has released this year's holiday beer - Red Nose Holiday Ale. This interpretation of a traditional Wassail beverage has been brewed with the addition of honey, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. There's not much chance of my ever tasting it but I don't think the chances of the residents of north Nevada are that much better. The reason is that it will be rare, 500 bottles rare. Each bottle of this limited edition will be hand labelled, numbered and signed by the brewmaster.

I'm familiar with the act of wassailling as a southern English tradition of singing and drinking to the health of cider apple trees but I didn't know anything about wassail the beverage. There are regional variations in the recipes but generally they involve mulled cider or beer with added sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and topped with a slice of toast. As I live in southern England I think that I should make an effort to find a wassailling ceremony close to home.

And finally, researchers at the Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in Iran are testing to see whether ginger is a suitable alternative to painkillers for toothache. According to South Africa's Independent Online an alternative is being sought as ibuprofen cannot be used by people with particular medical conditions such gastrointestinal ulcers and renal problems. You can rely on ginger to come to the rescue.