Getting to know your gingers

Ginger is one of the most common spices, used around the world in a variety of cuisines. Humans have grown it for so long that it has become a cultigen, meaning it no longer exists in the wild. This fact, along with a bevy of other information about this delicious rhizome, can be found at Gastro Obscura, which recently explored the world of ginger plus a handful of its close relatives.

Galangal  (Alpinia galanga) is probably the most popular ginger relative, and some recipes say you can substitute common ginger if you cannot find galangal. However, as Thai chef Pailin Chongchitnant notes, “that’s like saying you can use rosemary instead of basil. Sure, you CAN use it, but the flavors are totally different.” Like ginger, galangal freezes well and is usually available in any Asian grocery store.

While common ginger (Zingiber officinale) may be used worldwide, other forms are associated with regional cuisines and may not be well known outside of those areas. Myoga (Zingiber mioga) is popular in Japan, offers a milder flavor and, unlike common ginger, the rhizome is not the part that is eaten. Rather, the shoots and flower buds growing above the ground are what is harvested and eaten. Another variety that makes use of the flowers is torch ginger. This plant is grown ornamentally and for culinary use, and is common in Southeast Asian dishes.

The article also discusses two additional forms of ginger: fingerroot or krachai  (Boesenbergia rotunda), and sand ginger (Kaempferia galanga). The former is sharper than galangal but milder than ginger. Used in many Thai dishes, its unique sweet and peppery flavor makes it difficult to find a suitable alternative. The EYB Library contains recipes for all of these forms of ginger, but by far common ginger dominates, with more than 55,000 online recipes that have ginger as an ingredient.