Ginger And Your Health

I baked my first batch of ginger cookies a few weeks ago and they turned out quite delicious. As we get into the holiday season, I thought to post my ginger recipe here, however home-made ginger cookies are more than a healthy snack.

• The ginger herb has quite a few medicinal benefits ranging from helping to stop indigestion to blood clots. One of the biochemical compounds called gingerol is believed to inhibit an enzyme that may cause clots and could stop reoccurrence of smaller strokes. The other benefits of ginger are analgesic, antiseptic, aromatic, anti-inflammatory, and stimulant. 
• The other active compound called shogaols is also responsible for the anti-flammatory affect of ginger. 
• Ginger displays a high antioxidant activity that furthers its reputation as useful in Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, and other therapies. Antioxidants are compounds the scavenge for free radicals that cause inflammation. 
• Some other compounds present in Ginger may hold promise for preventing cancer such as paradol and zingerone. Okay, enough already about the chemical constitutes of Zingiber officinalis.

Ginger is spice derived from the roots and rhizome of the plant that typically grows in the tropical regions of Asia where its commonly used in their cooking. Its easy to grow in the tropics where its underground rhizomes take up little space while sprouting little leaves above ground that grow to about two feet in height. At four months old its ready to harvest though serious growers usually wait for many more months while the roots take off in the moist, light soil. In colder regions, such as where I live, it probably wouldn't even develop the spicy roots and instead would be nothing more than an ornamental plant. So much for trying to grow my own supply of fresh ginger.

Ginger has a deep, spicy taste that smells even better if your using it in cooking. Its bounds to liven up any dish though in the north its typically used in deserts such as ginger cookies. My recipe is below:

• 1 1/2 cup of wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of ginger
• 1 cup of cane sugar (or brown sugar or any sugar you like)
• 3/4 cup of butter (may need to add more)
• 1 fresh egg
• 1/4 cup of molasses (I didn't use any)

Mix it up in a bowl and preheat stove to at least 350 degrees. Makes about two dozen.