Welcome Rain, Hawaiian Ginger & Antimicrobial Activity

Ginger farmers in Queensland, and the Gympie region in particular, have been worried about the drought-like conditions they have endured since the middle of last year. So they were relieved when it eventually started to rain with the arrival of the remnants of ex-tropical cyclone Oswald. And rain it certainly has. According to The Gympie Times the Langshaw ginger farm received 600mm (nearly 24") of rain in four days. This amount of rain falling in four days would normally indicate very heavy downpours but it was actually gentle rain. Because of this there was remarkably little erosion and the crops survived. Queensland produces about 80% of Australia's ginger.

Patrick Atanalian, the executive chef at the Sanctuary restaurant in Minneapolis, has created a simple but unusual dish. He has taken a classic potato soup and given it a bit of a bite with the addition of ginger beer.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has revealed that Nepal has become the third largest producer of ginger in the world after India and China. In 2011 the country produced 216,289 tonnes of ginger. A continuing concern for the Nepalese government must be that India buys 98 percent of the country’s total ginger exports. (Source: The Kathmandu Post).

The Department of Botany at Gauhati University in North-East recently completed a research project entitled "Comparative Chemical Constituents And Antimicrobial Activity Of Normal And Organic Ginger Oils". It concluded that organic ginger oil was more effective than non-organic ginger oil at fighting Stephylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli and all the fungal strains except Penicillium sp.

The Ohio Breweries blog informs us that the Great Lakes Christmas Ale (which contains ginger as a significant component) was the top craft beer in terms of sales in Ohio and the ninth in the whole of the USA. And to think that it is only on sale for eight weeks. The brewery produced 359 batches (I don't know how large a batch is) which contained 7,000lbs of ginger.

For the last few years the University of Hawaii at Manoa has been conducting research into bacterial wilt of edible ginger in conjunction with Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE). Bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum) is the biggest threat to ginger farmers in Hawaii and many other ginger-growing countries. The aim of the project is to grow wilt-free ginger in pathogen-free soil. (Sources: University of Hawaii, SARE).

One of the participants in this research project is Hugh "Biker Dude" Johnson from Puna Organics in Hawaii. He supplies many of the ginger farms springing up in the eastern USA. Johnson was the first farmer in the world to export organic ginger.

Parts of Hawaii suffer from an infestation of Kahili ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum), an ornamental ginger which features in the top 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species. Interestingly, a strain of Ralstonia solanacearum has been used as a biological control against Kahili ginger.

The ginger harvest has started on time in the Nilphamari district of northern Bangladesh, according to The Financial Express. It is too early to speculate on the quality and quantity of this year's harvest but the district, which in the past produced enough ginger for the entire country, currently accounts for half of Bangladesh's needs.

Buderim Ginger announced recently that chief executive Murray Richardson had resigned for family reasons after just eight months in the role. I don't know what effect that will have on the company.

Malawi Shortage, Maldive Ginger Beer, Organic Ginger & Tigers

This isn't a good time for ginger ale drinkers in Malawi. The Nyasa Times reported that Carlsberg Malawi, the country's main supplier of soft drinks (including ginger ale) as well as the expected alcoholic beers, is suffering from the twin effects of a disconnected water supply and a shortage of bottles. Could it be any worse? Incidentally, Carlsberg Malawi was the first Carlsberg brewery outside of Denmark when it opened in 1968.

Two year ago Ceylon Cold Stores Limited launched its Elephant House Ginger Beer in the Maldives through the distributor Lily International. Lanka Business Today has reported that the drink has made significant progress in being distributed to all of the leading resorts. Elephant House Dry Ginger Ale has also been well received.

Meghalaya is a state in north east India. It is known for an abundance of acidic soil which is ideal for organic agriculture. Hence the state's designation as part of India's organic hub along with Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. I understand that many years of organic matter decay has contributed to the suitability for organic farming. For a country which produces and consumes huge quantities of ginger it is understandable that this region has been chosen to grow organic ginger. It is so important that the state government has organised organic ginger training courses to raise awareness, according to The Shillong Times.

Still in north east India and a potential clash between conservationists and ginger farmers. The Kukis, an ethic group also found in north west Burma and parts of Bangladesh, have asked the local council not to go ahead with a proposed tiger reserve of over 1,650 sq.km as it will affect the livelihood of 50,000 farmers and farm workers, many of whom are involved with the production of ginger. The Kukis say that 80 percent of the reserve is currently used for growing ginger. (Source: Telegraph India).

It may seem hard to believe but ginger farmers in some parts of Bhutan are throwing their produce away because they cannot find porters to take the harvest to market, according to the BBS broadcasting agency. It's both ridiculous and tragic.

Ginger Beer Battered Fish, Organic Ginger & Mountain Water

Congratulations to Nick Attfield and The Fish Hut, his award-winning fish and chip van in Southwold, Suffolk. He has just won the Best Main Dish award for his Lowestoft Longline-Caught Cod In Ginger Beer Batter at the British Street Food Awards 2012.

I've just been reading an extract from Seaports of India and Ceylon by Allister Macmillan (published in 1925 I think). Remember, I read anything and everything about ginger. Anyway, there is a page on the New Colombo Ice Company from what was then known as Ceylon. The company made a non-alcoholic ginger beer under the Elephant brand name in amber glass bottles. It switched from stone to glass for hygiene reasons and because, as Macmillan says, "fearful things creep into stone bottles, and remain there undetected in death, however great care may be exercised in prevention".

In 1941, New Colombo Ice Company changed its name to Ceylon Cold Stores Limited which it had bought in 1934. In the 21st century, the Ceylon Cold Stores flagship product is Elephant Ginger Beer (commonly known as EGB). It is still sold in amber glass bottles.

Organic farming is becoming very popular in Uganda, according to a recent article in All Africa. The National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda represents the organic production of a wide range of crops including ginger. These crops, which command a higher price than non-organic products, are sent for export with the assistance of the Uganda Export Promotions Board. The export of organic ginger could be extremely profitable as it is becoming highly sought-after. At present, the major organic ginger exporters are China and India. The highly regarded organic ginger from Hawaii tends to be marketed on the US mainland.

The North Wales Brewery has an interesting unique selling point. Based on a hillside at Moelfre, near Abergele, the brewery produces a range of drinks from real ales to non-alcoholic ginger beer. But what makes the drinks of interest, according to the Daily Post, is the water. After becoming disenchanted with their domestic water supply, the owners brought in a water diviner to locate an alternative source. They eventually found water at 500ft and now pump up enough through the granite and slate to produce 3,000-4,000 pints a week.

Nepalese ginger exports through the Birgunj check point to India in the last fiscal year set a new record, according to The Himalayan. The 7,834 metric tonnes, worth Rs. 250.6 million, was three times higher than the previous year. Birgunj is Nepal's principal import and export point as well as being a major business centre.

Fresh Plaza reported on the big decline in the production of root crops in the Philippines during the first quarter of this year. It didn't state the reason why but two crops managed to buck this trend: ginger and sweet potato. What the article didn't mention was that ginger is often intercropped with sweet potato with both being grown under young coconut trees.

There's bad news for food shoppers in Pakistan, according to The News International. Apparently, now that summer season crops are giving way to winter season crops, prices of vegetables and salads have skyrocketed. The wholesale price of ginger has increased by 16%, a not inconsiderable sum.

Gingerbread Day, Ginger Honey, Organic Ginger & Pink Beer

Last Tuesday (June 5th) was National Gingerbread Day in the USA. I don't know how long it has been going for but it exists to spread the word about this delicious product. There were many US websites featuring gingerbread recipes on the day but one that took my eye in particular was for Auntie May's Ginger Biscuits. You can see the recipe on Arkansas-based KFSM's 5News website. This is one food commemoration day I wouldn't mind seeing here in the UK. And why stop at gingerbread. Let's have a National Ginger Day where we can celebrate ginger beer, ginger ale, ginger tea and countless other ginger-based products.

Digressing for a moment from the world of ginger, Mahalo tells us that in the US 'each and every day of the year has been designated as a holiday for at least one food, and often there are actually multiple food holidays on the same day'. These food holiday or commemoration days are designated by either the US President or the US Senate. Apparently, today (June 10th) Americans are enjoying Herbs & Spices Day, National Iced Tea Day and National Black Cow Day, and tomorrow they can treat themselves on National German Chocolate Cake Day.

Calgary-based Big Rock Brewery produce an interesting beer called Rye & Ginger. It is a Bavarian-style roggenbier (rye beer) containing up to 60% rye malt. To this Big Rock adds some ginger. And Canada's Metro carried an interesting statistic - 75% of Rye & Ginger sales are to women.

Here's something to look out for in the UK. The New Zealand Honey Company has launched its Manuka Honey & Root Ginger in the Morrisons supermarket chain. According to the Otago Daily Times, the ginger honey is available in about 420 branches which, by my calculation, is roughly 92% of the total. I haven't checked yet but I wouldn't be surprised if my local store is one of the few which doesn't stock it. It looks like a very tasty product so if you manage to buy a jar, let us know what you think of it.

An alarming state of affairs has developed in the Canadian federal territory of Nunavut. The Winnipeg Free Press has reported that the local Inuit population is suffering under the strain of sky-high food prices. A protest was organised for yesterday and a Facebook campaign launched to highlight instances of high prices such as a head of cabbage for $20, a small bag of apples for $15 and a case of ginger ale for $82.

Vintage Nation, this summer's biggest vintage event in the UK, was held yesterday at Brighton Racecourse. The event, in the form of a marketplace, was staged to celebrate sixty years of Britain at its best. Sixty years of fashion, food and music. So what better place than this for Crabbie's to set up shop. Actually, Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer was one of the main sponsors of the event. The brand hosted a 'village green' with games, ginger cupcakes, ginger beer samples and a Crabbie's bar. I didn't go but I would have been interested to hear Crabbie's musical offering - Mr.B The Gentleman Rhymer. Mr.B, I am informed, performs chap hop which is hip-hop delivered in a Received Pronunciation (or Queen's English) accent.

I've been reading about the emergence of the Northeast Region (NER) of India as the country's organic ginger hub. Although three years old, the gist of the 'Traditional practices of ginger cultivation in Northeast India' paper from the Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge is, I assume, still valid today. The ginger-producing states in the NER include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim, and farmers here still practice traditional methods of cultivation which rely on organic inputs. The region, which produces nearly three-quarters of India's total ginger production, benefits by its impressively large range of ginger cultivars. I'm not clear what the determining factors are when it comes to selecting which varieties to grow; it could be micro-climate, disease resistance, cultural, historical or a number of other reasons. Anyway, have a read yourself - it's quite interesting.

Houston's CultureMap has introduced me to the Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company, a brewery committed to experimental beers. And its latest beer seems to epitomise the experimental nature of the brewery. I'm not entirely sure what it is called (Summer, I think) but it is made from Belgian witbier yeast, hibiscus flower, ginger, coriander and orange peel. What sets this beer apart from other unusual beers is that it has a pink colour. Yes, pink! The beer has the catchy tagline "Real Dudes Drink Pink".