Andrew Perry, age 11, of Middletown, Ohio, for his question:
WHERE DO WE GET GINGER?
Ginger is a spice and a popular flavoring. It comes from the roots of the ginger plant, a native of the East Indies, South America and West Africa.
Ginger is used as a spice to flavor foods such as gingerbread and gingersnaps. It is also used to make ginger tea, a home remedy for stomachache.
Another popular ginger product is ginger ale. Not quite as popular, but still a favorite with lots of people is candied ginger.
Oil of ginger is used as a medicine, internally for the stomach and externally for pains, like toothache. But it is most commonly used to season food.
The stems and grasslike leaves of the ginger plant spring directly from the knotty root bearing rhizome, or underground stem. On the stems grow clusters of white flowers, streaked with purple.
To make black ginger, the roots of the ginger plant are dug up and dried whole after the leaves wither. To make white ginger, the roots are scraped and washed before they are dried.
The ginger can be preserved if it is boiled and dipped in syrup every 24 hours for a week.
Today the finest ginger comes from Puerto Rico and Jamaica. It is usually sold in extract form. Most preserved ginger is imported from China.
Wild ginger is a plant of the birthwort family and is not related to true ginger. It grows in the shady woodlands of the northern United States.
Wild ginger is a low, woolly plant with heart shaped leaves. It has one bell shaped brownish purple blossom. It grows close to the ground or on it, where crawling beetles and ants can easily reach it with pollen. Like true ginger, its root is a stimulant and it is also used as a spice.
Not at all related to the ginger is ginseng, an herb with a long, fleshy root that is used as a medicine. The connection between ginseng and ginger is that both offer roots for man's use.
The name of this plant comes from Chinese words meaning "likeness to a man," because of the shape of its root. Those shaped most like human bodies are considered to be the most valuable.
Chinese ginseng is used to treat many diseases. American ginseng, many experts say, is better than Chinese or Korean varieties. Although the plant grows wild in some parts of the United States and Canada, demand for the roots caused the wild ginseng supply to dwindle. It is now cultivated chiefly in Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin.
Ginseng is a low plant with three leaves at the top. Each leaf is made up of five leaflets. Ginseng has small greenish yellow flowers. Some of these flowers later produce scarlet berries.