| History: | | | | prefer, you can eat a few gingersnap cookies to settle |
| Ginger is native to China and India, the word deriving | | | | your stomach. That works well, too! |
| from Sanskrit meaning 'with a body like a deer's antler'. | | | | While the most potent antioxidant spice is clove, ginger |
| Ginger's shape reminds me of another root that is | | | | ranks third behind oregano leaves, followed by |
| commonly sold in our supermarkets that can be | | | | cinnamon, turmeric and paprika. These spices pack a |
| prepared like potatoes, but obnoxiously produces such | | | | wallop, netting us more concentrated antioxidant |
| awful flatulence as to have made it totally banned in | | | | power than even blueberries or red wine. In addition, |
| our home: Jerusalem artichoke. I digress. | | | | they do this with a zero calorie cost (!) which cannot |
| Ginger spice was so popular in Europe that it was | | | | be said of other foods or beverages. |
| often provided in containers like salt and pepper. In | | | | Cooking with Ginger Spice: |
| England, the-epicentre-com says that pub owners and | | | | Vegetarian dishes abound with ginger spice. It is both |
| innkeepers provided small containers of ground ginger | | | | sweet and hot, depending on the quantity used, lending |
| for customers to sprinkle into their beer, the original | | | | a pleasant bite to some otherwise bland foods such |
| ginger ale! | | | | as tofu. |
| Interestingly, the most searched-for ginger topic on | | | | For our recipe of the day at vegetarian-fun.com, we |
| Google seems to be a pornographic star with the first | | | | provide Old Fashioned Ginger Snaps found on - titled: |
| name of Ginger! That is probably due to a combination | | | | Grandma Edna's Ginger Cookies. We modified the |
| of things, maybe red hair, often called ginger hair, or | | | | recipe to reflect Grandma Edna's alterations per her |
| that she spices up men's lives. | | | | quote: "In my oven, 12 minutes is about the right time. |
| Ginger Root Properly Called Ginger Rhizome: | | | | Otherwise they get too brown. This makes a very rich |
| Regardless of popularity, we will speak here of the | | | | cookie. I like to add a little more flour (maybe 1/4 cup) |
| rhizome, Zingiber officinale, the ginger spice commonly | | | | and add a tiny bit of water, maybe 1 Tbsp." |
| used to make gingerbread cookies, ginger tea and | | | | So the resulting recipe is as follows! |
| flavor Asian cuisine and sauces. A rhizome is an | | | | Grandma Edna's Ginger Cookies (World's Best Ginger |
| underground stem, not a true root. If you were to dig | | | | Snaps) |
| up the whole ginger plant, you'd see fine hairs that | | | | Ingredients:o 3/4 cup shorteningo 1-cup light brown |
| feed the rhizome - those are ginger's real 'roots'. | | | | sugar, firmly packedo 1 eggo 1/4 tsp salto 4 Tbsp |
| As an aside, these rhizome nodule clumps are called | | | | molasseso 2 1/4 cups flouro 2 tsp baking sodao 1/2 |
| 'hands' and that is how they are shipped to your | | | | tsp ground cloveso 1 tsp ground cinnamono 1 tsp |
| grocery store, in clumps which you purchase by | | | | ground ginger |
| weight. You can break off a nodule, skin it and slice it | | | | Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. |
| thinly or finely grate it for additions to sauces or soups. | | | | 1. Cream together shortening and brown sugar until |
| Asian cuisine often calls for its use fresh, while many | | | | well mixed, light, and fluffy. |
| western recipes call for dried, ground ginger. | | | | 2. Beat together well the egg, salt, and molasses and |
| Fully 50% of the world's ginger harvest is produced in | | | | then mix these into the above. (Grandma beat and |
| India, but the best quality comes from Jamaica. Lower | | | | mixed these by hand.) |
| quality ginger is used in beer or ginger ale production or | | | | 3. Sift together flour, baking soda, ground cloves, |
| pressed and reduced to oils for flavorings or perfumes. | | | | cinnamon and ginger. |
| Medicinal Uses of Ginger: | | | | 4. Add dry ingredients to first wet mixture and |
| Ginger has been used medicinally for several thousand | | | | combine well. |
| years, the first recorded mention being 3,000 years | | | | 5. Chill in the refrigerator a few hours or overnight. |
| B.C. in China. Confucius is reputed to have eaten ginger | | | | 6. After chilled, shape dough into balls about walnut |
| daily, noting its stomach calming and gas reducing | | | | sized and place balls on a greased cookie sheet, |
| effects in the intestines. | | | | allowing room for expansion. Flatten balls with a fork. |
| It is used today to aid in the reduction of menopausal | | | | 7. Bake in 350-degree oven 12 to 15 min. Do not let get |
| side effects as well as an aphrodisiac, the latter | | | | too brown. |
| perhaps only the calming influence mentioned above, | | | | Grandma liked these cookies thin and crisp. Experiment |
| allowing for peaceful and enthusiastic reciprocal | | | | and adapt to suit taste, size and desired consistency. |
| engagement with a willing partner. | | | | Grandma's were about 2 1/2" in diameter. |
| Ginger has also been shown to be an excellent | | | | So there you have what we hope you will find a |
| preservative, eliminating salmonella in tests! | | | | keeper ginger snap recipe. My dear spouse dearly |
| Additionally, ginger has been recommended to | | | | loves a snappy, zingy and crispy ginger cookie. This |
| counteract nausea associated for some with air, car | | | | fits his bill. However, if you have made one that is |
| and sea sickness. If you are nauseous, you can take a | | | | snappier and has a real ginger bite, please submit a |
| cube of sugared ginger candy and nibble it. The taste | | | | recipe! |
| is fairly strong, so nibbling is the best course. If you | | | | |