Gingerbread Ale, Migraine Relief & Molecular Gastronomy

Every now and then a picture comes along that catches my eye. Invariably, I can't explain why but there is always something about it that I find fascinating. And so it was last week that I came across a giant gingerbread man on a poster for Dough Head Gingerbread Ale from the Vancouver Island Brewery in Victoria, British Columbia. Unfortunately, this limited edition seasonal beer has only been brewed for the Christmas period. Brewer Chris Graham has used ginger, clove and cinnamon to create a beer which tastes and smells like a gingerbread cookie. Although most of us will never taste the beer, at least we will have the poster to look at (I'm sure the brewery won't mind).

As the end of the year is almost upon us, we can reveal the most searched for ginger story on Google in 2011. It was back in June that Reuters, and a number of other sources, reported the encouraging findings that a homeopathic preparation of ginger and feverfew may provide some pain relief for migraine sufferers. According to Wikipedia, migraines affect more than 10pc of people worldwide so it's not surprising that this story was so popular.

I imagine that Australian ginger farmers are having their best Christmas in a number of years. The Gympie Times reported the good news that after two years of suffering from persistent rain and pythium root rot, the farmers, with the assistance of Buderim Ginger, now seem to be heading in the right direction with fresh seed stock, new land and the promise of a 21pc pay rise.

Did you know that ginger beer is said to be the Christmas beverage in Trinidad and Tobago?

Traditionally, December is the time of year for unusual and quirky articles. Well, it is in the UK at least (see New Scientist for a classic example). That 'international weekly journal of science', nature.com, recently carried an article about a Cambridge theoretical physicist, Sebatian Ahnert, who also happens to be an amateur molecular gastronomist. It was in this latter capacity that he published the initial results of research into the matching of flavour molecules in recipes from around the world. Ahnert began the research after becoming intrigued by the anecdotal suggestion that some foods go well together because they contain the same flavour molecules. Apparently, that is why caviar and white chocolate can be served together but only in North America and Western Europe. You wouldn't find this combination in Latin American, Southern European or East Asian cuisine. The Cambridge team found that some common ingredients in North American cooking - milk, butter, cocoa, vanilla, cream & eggs, for example - share flavour compounds with many other foods. But some common ingredients in East Asian cooking - ginger, beef, pork, cayenne, chicken & onion - shared the least flavour compounds. I've been brought up on traditional English fare but I have found myself moving towards the delights of Italian cuisine. This could explain why I find most dishes by Heston Blumenthal (probably the world's most famous molecular gastronomist) so unappealing. If you are still uncertain about which of these two groups you belong to, consider the next flavour combination which Ahnert is keen to try - coffee and garlic!

I shall sign off now by wishing you all a very happy and prosperous New Year.

Career Change, More Contamination, Migraine & Irrigation Project

Many people dream of changing their career but few actually do it. So it was pleasing to read of Reuben Canada, a Philadelphia-based patent attorney, who is making a name for himself in the world of ginger. He started in his kitchen by making a ginger-infused syrup to add to vodka. This evolved into a ginger beer type drink called Jin-Ja which contains ginger, cayenne pepper, green tea, lemon juice and mint. Apparently it can be drunk both neat and as a mixer. Canada's Jin-Ja business has proved so successful that he now employs 13 staff. I really admire people who set themselves a challenge and strive for it. As the maxim goes "You only live once".

Following the recent news (see 5th June 2011 post)that ginger product exports from Taiwan are being monitored for DEHP contamination, the Taiwanese themselves have now discovered ginger powder imported from China contaminated with DIBP. DIBP is a plasticiser and it was recently discovered in a consignment of more than 80,000 ginger powder nutrition capsules in Taichung City. What puzzles me is that these plasticisers are manufactured, some undergoing complex processing, at what must be a not inconsiderable expense. Surely it must be easier, safer and cheaper to sell ginger unadulterated.

Reuters reported the preliminary results of a study into the use of feverfew and ginger for migraine. Researchers at the Headache Care Centre in Springfield, Missouri gave a group of volunteers a feverfew and ginger preparation whilst a control group was given a placebo. Initial indications were that the feverfew and ginger preparation had a noticeable effect in reducing pain but as the survey sample size was too small the results cannot be considered conclusive. Fortunately I've never suffered from migraine but I know people who do and so I hope that this treatment turns out to be a success.

How do you increase your agricultural production in an Indian drought zone? How do you harvest ginger out of season following a poor monsoon? You simply install irrigation. But not just any old irrigation system. The India Tribune has reported that Gujarat and its neighbouring states are reaping the benefits of the Sardar Sarovar project, first conceived in the 1940s by Nehru, whereby a huge dam and reservoir feed an extensive network of canals and sub-canals. It's hard to believe that it has taken so long to build but I suppose that a project of this scale must be extremely expensive for any country or donor agency to undertake.