New Ginger Beers, Preservative Use, Oleoresins & Crisps

I was surprised to read that in the late 1950s, doctors in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, recommended ginger ale and pretzels as a cure for babies with an upset stomach. Apparently, the drink is no longer used as the sugar content can exacerbate the problem and also giving a baby a fizzy drink isn't ideal. I would have thought that the spiciness of ginger would have been completely unsuitable.

Last month, Fever-Tree launched its Naturally Light Ginger Beer in the US. It joins the company's existing Ginger Beer and Ginger Ale with all three made from a blend of three gingers from Nigeria, Cochin and the Ivory Coast.

The latest unusual ginger-spiced beer I've spotted is Antebellum Ale from the Craggie Brewing Company in Asheville, North Carolina. The brewery has taken an 1840s American recipe containing ginger, molasses and spruce tips and added malt and hops for a modern twist.

In June, the Philadelphia Brewing Company launched Commonwealth Ciders. Next year, the brewery is planning a seasonal ginger cider. I'll let you know when it arrives.

The Gleaner from Jamaica carried an interesting article recently which had me reaching for the dictionary. It's about a farmer who grows soursop and who wants to produce a soursop juice commercially. Soursop, for those of you who, like me, had never heard of it before, is a tropical fruit with a taste of strawberry and pineapple. What brought the article to my attention was the use of ginger as a preservative for the juice.

Ginger has long been known as a preservative and a quick online search will reveal a wide range of ginger preservative uses including bread, pork, West African soft cheese, fresh fish and orange juice.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has announced the recall of certain Clef Des Champs brand Organic Ground Ginger products which may contain salmonella, reports MarketWatch. The recall appears to be nationwide.

Waitrose is to launch an alcoholic ginger beer as part of an own-label revamp. I'm surprised that there hasn't been one before (as far as I know).

Hollows & Fentimans will be promoting its alcoholic ginger beer with a Halloween marketing campaign this month, reports FoodBev. My understanding is that although Fentimans and Hollows & Fentimans are, in effect, the same company, Fentimans produces non-alcoholic drinks and Hollows & Fentimans produces alcoholic drinks. Nice drinks.

The Nepalese Department of Food technology and Quality Control has selected ginger as one of six agricultural products with wider export potential, according to The Himalayan Times. With ginger exports earning an impressive Rs 507.6 million in the last fiscal year, farmers are being encouraged to switch to organic production and then gain the added financial benefit of processing the ginger instead of exporting it raw. Preserved ginger commands a good premium although Nepal would be up against established players like Hong Kong and China.

Another region looking to increase its market share is the northern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The State Agriculture Minister has called for the creation of more ginger oleoresin extraction plants. Oleoresins are naturally occurring mixtures of oil and resin. Ginger oleoresin is used to flavour a wide range of food and drink products. (Source: The Hindu Business Line).

If you live in Japan you may be interested in a soon to be launched ginger and fried chicken flavoured crisp. But, according to PotatoPro, these crisps will only be available for a limited period.

The Nigerian Guardian has reported that a government department is developing plans to cope with the after effects of flooding on agricultural land. Although Nigeria produces enough both to feed itself and also to export for much needed foreign earnings, the production of crops such as ginger, cashew nuts, sweet potatoes and citrus fruits was affected this year by a combination of severe flooding and high post-harvest losses. Any farmer, politician or scientist will accept that you cannot mitigate against the effects of flooding but that something can and should be done to reduce the amount of post-harvest waste.

Incidentally, Nigeria start growing ginger in 1927 and is now fifth in the world production table.

Longevity, Recall, Unusual Bottle Find, Award Winners & Price Rise

The Dogfish Head Craft Brewery is an innovative and quirky brewery from Milton, Delaware. I like to follow developments because its beers, whether they reach production or not, can be very imaginative. One beer I read about recently is a soup-like brew called Hot Thoup!, an imperial pale ale with added ginger and carrots. I don't know what it tastes like and I never will as it will only be on tap while supplies last.

The Daily Express reported that Dorothy Peel, who has just celebrated her 110th birthday, attributes her longevity to a daily glass of ginger ale with a bit of whisky. I shall raise a belated glass to you, Dorothy.

A fascinating archaeology article was featured in Get Surrey last week. Professionals and volunteers have been excavating the ruins of Woking Palace, a building used by Henry VII, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. The article mentioned one particular unusual discovery - a ginger beer bottle. The bottle, of the Codd variety, was marked Castle Brewery (Guildford) and dated between 1910 and 1918. It is believed that the bottle was discarded during the 1911 Lord Iveagh excavation.

A couple of supplementary facts. Lord Iveagh was chief executive and, subsequently, chairman of Guinness. A Codd bottle incorporated a marble and a rubber washer in the neck and was designed for carbonated drinks by the British soft drink maker Hiram Codd in 1872.

Thai Ginger Butter is one of a number of products to be recalled by Sunland, Inc, according to many media outlets including CNN.

The Riverfront Times blog reported on an interesting development in University City, Missouri. Three local businesses have collaborated on the creation of two new sodas. One of these drinks is Pi Ginger Beer which is described as a cross between ginger ale and a spicy Jamaican ginger beer.

This is a bit late (early August actually) but better late than never. The Wrest Point Royal Hobart Fine Food Awards show, organised by The Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania, is a key event in the Australian culinary calendar. I'm mentioning this because a number of ginger products picked up awards (not enough in my view). So congratulations to (deep breath): Tasmanian Ginger for Ginger Kisses, Choc Cherry Ginger Bites, Scary Gingerbread House and the Gluten-Free Gingerbread Man; Cocobean Chocolate for Macadamia & Ginger Bark; Red Dragon Organics for Certified Organic Ginger Beer and Living Elixir; Tasmanian Chilli Beer Company for Ginger Chilli Beer (Non-Alcoholic) and Ginger Beer (Non-Alcoholic); Carlson's Handcrafted Ginger Cordial; Doolan Country Rhubarb & Ginger Jam; Nina's Fig & Ginger Jam; Lemon Ginger Marmalade from Pirates Bay Berry Farm and, finally, Taverner's Tasmanian Double Ginger Honey. So, if you live in Australia, add these to your shopping list. You can see the full list here.

The latest unusual ginger-spiced beer I've found (read about, not tried) is Autumnation from the Sixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn, New York. This beer is brewed with ginger, pumpkin and "wet" hops. "Wet" hops are used freshly picked rather than dried in the traditional manner.

In the early summer I mentioned that the sowing of ginger in the Indian state of Karnataka had been adversely affected by the absence of the monsoon rains. The Deccan Herald has just reported that farmers in the village of Shanivarasanthe in the Kodagu district of the state have just started taking what I assume is newly-harvested baby ginger to market. Because the lack of rain has affected the quantity of ginger, the consequent lack of ginger at market has led to an increase in the wholesale price. Good news for farmers but bad news for shoppers.

Silver Sofi™, Crabbie's Sauces, Ginger Lager & Rising Prices

I'll start this week by congratulating those ginger products which are the National Association for the Speciality Food Trade's 2012 sofi™ Silver Finalists. This year's runners-up, to be honoured tomorrow in Washington D.C, are Japanese Ginger Chocolate Bar from Romanicos Chocolate, Ginger Peach Black Tea from The Republic of Tea, Ginger Soother from The Ginger People and The Latest Scoop Ginger Pear Sorbet from Cable Car Delights. You can see the other silver finalists here. Hopefully I will have a list of gold award winners next week.

Crabbie's was in the news again last week. This time, according to The Drum, it has launched two ginger flavoured sauces, Ginger Spiced Sweet Chilli Sauce and Sweet Ginger Splash, in the Asda supermarket chain. The sauces have been created in partnership with the increasingly popular sauce company, Trees Can't Dance.

Halewood International, producer of the Crabbie's range, plans to double in size, says the Liverpool Daily Post. It will be interesting to see how Crabbie's con>tributes to this growth.

The Retail Times reported that Firefly Natural Drinks has teamed up with Selfridges to launch a limited edition lemon, lime & ginger drink in a collectable yellow bottle. The drink will be available in all Selfridges stores to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics.

Lance Seeto is an Australian chef who works at the Castaway Island restaurant in Fiji and who also writes a weekly column for The Fiji Times. His column last week described how he was struggling to shake off cold symptoms brought on by the start of winter. Naturally, he was advocating the use of ginger as one of the remedies to strengthen the immune system. I've never really thought about winter in Fiji. According to Wikipedia, the average winter temperature in Fiji is a chilly 22C (72F). Where I live in the UK the average summer temperature seems to be a positively balmy 22C. It's all relative, I suppose.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Ted Baker, the British-owned international fashion chain, celebrated the Queen's Diamond Jubilee week by giving out free ginger beer in its shops.

The Americans love their malt & hop beers with added ginger. The Utica Observer-Dispatch reports that the local FX Matt Brewing Company has launched a limited-edition Saranac Lemon Ginger in the style of a Belgian Saison. A Saison is a pale ale brewed for harvesting farm workers in Wallonia, and, by definition, is also for a limited period.

Still in the US and the Minneapolis St.Paul Business Journal introduced us to a new brewery and taproom called 612Brew. The brewery will launch with two regular beers and a summer seasonal beer (the one of interest to me) by the name of "Mary Ann". Mary Ann, named after a character from the 1960s TV series Gilligan's Island, is a German-style lager with added freshly grated ginger. Ginger is also a character from Gilligan's Island.

I'm always pleased when a restaurant uses ginger prominently in its signature dish. These dishes help to spread the word about ginger far beyond places where it is grown. The latest signature dish which I have discovered (on the Internet, that is, not in person) is Chocolate & Ginger Venison, from the Hildebrand Ristorante in Cape Town. A number of South African websites describe it as a fusion of Italian flavours and African flair.

Unfortunately, there was a ginger product recall last week. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency reported that Scholtens Inc has recalled Granny Appleton Crystallized Ginger in 125g packs owing to the presence of sulphites. The recall applies to packs sold in Ontario. I'm not sure whether sulphites are supposed to be in this product or that the level is too high.

In recent years, manufacturers have become more aware of the problems which sulphite ingestion can cause, particularly for those with respiratory disorders. Four years ago Queensland's Buderim Ginger started a two-year project to determine whether chlorine dioxide could replace sulphites as the preservative of choice. I've never read about the project's outcome but here is an interesting, and recent, report from the Queensland government on the same topic.

A smile must be returning to the face of many a ginger farmer in southern India. And the reason why? The price of ginger has actually started to rise. With most Indian ginger harvested during May and imported ginger not set to arrive yet, there is now a shortage in markets countrywide. This shortage has naturally translated into a rise in price. One farmer was so surprised by the increase that he decided to sell his crop which had been set aside for next season's seed. But some Indian farmers have missed out on the near three-fold increase in recent weeks. Farmers from Kerala leased land in the neighbouring state of Karnataka. As the leases expired by the end of May, these farmers had to harvest and sell their crops before the price started to rise. It is feared that the price will fall in the near future as cheaper imports from China reach the markets. (Sources: The Hindu, mathrubhumi, Deccan Herald)

Still in India and a story in The Telegraph about a ginger farmer in the state of Assam. An important source of income for him is the export of his ginger to Bangladesh. The best financial return is gained by exporting dry ginger as the drying process retains the quality and increases the shelf life. Unfortunately for him, there are no drying facilities in the region which means that he can only export ginger flakes. These flakes, which I imagine are painstakingly air-dried, have a more limited use and, consequently, a lower value.

Queensland's Sunshine Coast Daily has reported on a leaking dam and the potentially damaging consequences for ginger farmers who rely on the water supply. It hasn't been a problem so far as recent rain has replaced the leaking water but this can't continue once the weather changes.

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.