Ginger is a common ingredient in Asian and Indian cuisine. However, ginger has been used for its medicinal properties for centuries among many cultures.Ginger has a long history of use for relieving digestive problems such as nausea, loss of appetite, motion sickness and pain.
The root or underground stem (rhizome) of the ginger plant can be consumed fresh, powdered, dried as a spice, in oil form or as juice. Ginger is part of the Zingiberaceae family, alongside cardamom and turmeric, and is commonly produced in India, Jamaica, Fiji, Indonesia and Australia.
Ginger (Zingiber Officinale) is a commodity that is highly valued in international markets for its aroma, pungency and high oil and Aleo resin content. Nigeria is the third largest exporter of ginger in the world after China and India. Most of the dried ginger that are available for international trade are simply sun dried over a few days, but artificial drying is also used in areas lacking a defined dry season to coincide with the harvest. The rhizome is dried to between 8-10% moisture content. Dried ginger is usually presented in a split or sliced form. Splitting is said to be preferred to slicing, as slicing loses more flavor, but the sliced are easier to grind and this is the predominant form of dried ginger currently in the market.
Harvesting of ginger starts from October and normally continues until April/May. This largely depends on the market situation as ginger can be left on the ground (not harvested) for two years.