Add a little SPICE to your life!
Canadian wild ginger has been prized throughout history for its culinary and medicinal properties. Canadian wild ginger is actually one of the best medicinal species of ginger because it contains higher concentrations of alkaloids. The medicine itself is mainly found in the root system, but can also be present in the leaves and glandular petioles. Asarum canadense generates rhizomes that form just below the surface of the soil. As they crowd together, some emerge above the ground, and it is these airborne rhizomes that contain the greatest amount of medicine.
Throughout history Asarum
canadense has been used as a healing herb. The Native
Americans used it for an assortment of illnesses because the
roots contain
aristolochic
acid, which can be used for pain relief, an anesthetic, a diuretic,
and a fever inducer. Be careful though if you try this yourself,
because excessive amounts of aristolochic acid may cause kidney
failure or even cancer! Native American tribes also ground up
the root and put it in cold water for the elderly to drink to
help their major organs function and to act as a synergist on
other medications that they were taking. Canadian wild ginger
was also used as a ghost medicine because it was considered to
hinder cross-contamination of disease to those who were near the
ill.
Asarum canadense can be used
as a substitute spice. The species of ginger that you find on
the grocery store shelf is Zingiber officinale, and
while Asarum canadense is not the same, it
does have a
similar flavor. It may not taste as good as the real ginger, but
it can fulfill the duty in making gingerbread cookies and
gingerbread houses during the Christmas season. Some people even
add ginger to their
tea for extra flavor. Interested in
some other unique ginger recipes? Visit
epicurean.com to learn how to make
ginger beef, lime and ginger chops, ginger peanut pasta salad,
and many more delicious foods!
Ginger
is commonly used as a name or nickname. A great example of this
is Ginger Spice from the musical group the Spice Girls. Her real
name is Geri Halliwell, but she chose Ginger as her stage name.
Ginger Grant was a movie star character on the popular
television series "Gilligan's Island." In "Saved by the Bell,"
the character Ginger was an air-headed blonde who appeared in
later episodes of the television series. These are just some of
the most famous Gingers, but I'm sure we are all familiar of
many more women with this unique name.
Meet the author of this webpage next!