Ingredients
Organic Peruvian Ginger
So traditionally crystallised ginger is made using young ginger root, as the root is far softer and less fibrous, making it easier to work with. The cons of this is that the nutrients are less developed, meaning lower levels of iron and Vitamin C, which ginger is known to be a good source of. As the root grows naturally the nutrient content becomes more denser, getting boost of iron and Vitamin C.
The variety grown in Peru is an organic criollo variety, which is known to have a bolder taste and more gingerol present. Gingerol being what makes the ginger spicer and is an essential oil, which gives it the properties of being antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. So since my ginger has higher spice levels it means my crystallised ginger packs a punch. So a little bit goes a long way. With the higher concentration of gingerol in the Peruvian root it carries far more health benefits in smaller amounts.
The varieties of ginger that are used range from the Chinese grown ginger, as well as the Australian grown ginger which the companies like Buderim Ginger and the Ginger People use. There are 2 varieties of ginger grown in Australia, Jumbo, also called Canton, and Queensland.
Onto the part where clean the ginger root for production. So as the ginger is organic, I see no need to remove all the skin that is perfectly edible, as it is just waste of extra nutrients and flavor if completely removed. I do remove blemishes on the surface of the ginger root where it is a bit gnarly or there is a blemish underneath. Even when cutting up the ginger I can find dark bits inside and I remove if it looks bad. I keep the scraps of ginger that I remove to the side and compost the pieces that aren’t reuseable. These scraps are boiled in water and then strained through and this infused water is placed into the ginger infused water that comes from softening the other ginger root. The ginger scraps are then added to the compost.
Whole Spices
Have you ever came across where powdered spices have gathered in a sludge in the bottom of a bottle. This is what I wanted to prevent. Also by using powders the flavour would keep developing once in the bottle and could become overpowering and unpleasant. I do use nutmeg powder though as it is such a dense nut that I would have to grate it up anyways.
So I crush up my warm spices that I use; cinnamon, cloves, allspice berries, cardamon pods and add the nutmeg powder. These are added to my ginger infused water and then boiled for up to 3-4hours to get a good balance of flavour. The spices are removed and frozen. I am going to come up with a plan to reuse these spices, maybe dehydrate them and sell them as spice bags for baking.
The range of spices that I use all have varying medicinal properties. Alot will be high in antioxidents so they will be beneficial in recovering from diseases like heart disease and cancer, as it reduces the damage caused to cells. I’ll go through them here and leave links to where you can read further more. I only use medical papers so that the information has been properly studied.
Cinnamon
has been know to hold antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial. As well as anticancer and cardiovascular-disease-lowering compound, cinnamon has also been reported to have activities against neurological disorders. More information can be found in this paper, Cinnamon: A Multifaceted Medicinal Plant. Cinnamon is known to have been a good antioxidant which helps to reduce harmful free radicals which contribute to various diseases.
Cloves
Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties but they also help to boost your liver health, helps with digestion, relieve constipation, help to boost immunity and they act as natural pain reliever due to its analgesic properties.
Allspice berries
So Allspice berries are the unripen berries of the Jamaican Pepper Plant, Pimenta dioica, originating in the Caribbean. The berries are dried causing them to go from green to brown colour. Using this spice gives my syrup a clover sweet taste, like winter flavours in a bottle. Also great for making a chai tea or latte.
Allspice seems to be used in a variety of ways for medicinal uses from colds, menstrual cramps and nausea. In other parts of Central America it is used in external uses like sore joints and muscle aches. Combined with other herbal mixtures it helps to relieve in digestion used alot in Cuba. The digestion relief can be contributed to the high level of polyphenol Eugenol in the berries, which helps to stimulate digestion enzymes.
More can be read here, Medicinal Properties of the Jamaican Pepper Plant Pimenta dioica and Allspice. Very interesting read as further down it goes into
Nutmeg
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Cardamon pods
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**I will add more in the next few weeks.**