Processing


Processing
    The five main products of the ginger rhizome are
    • Fresh (green) ginger,
    • Dried ginger spice,
    • Bleached ginger,
    • Preserved ginger in syrup or brine and
    • Crystallised ginger.
    Green ginger
    • Fresh ginger, is consumed as a vegetable spice, both when immature and mature.
    • It is of lesser importance in world trade, but in the local market it is a major commodity.
    • For this purpose, green ginger rhizomes, soon after harvesting are thoroughly washed in water 2-3 limes to remove any soil and dirt.
    • Then, the damaged and diseased rhizomes are separated and graded depending upon the requirement in the market.
    Dried ginger
    • In order to obtain a more pungent and aromatic spice, ginger should be harvested at the time of proper maturity and dried properly.
    • For this purpose, the harvested rhizomes are soaked in water overnight and rubbed well between to remove the adhering soil.
    • After thorough cleaning, they are removed from the water.
    • The outer skin is removed with a split bamboo with a pointed end, taking care to see that only the outer skin is peeled as otherwise the essential oil glands beneath the skin will also get damaged and thus the oleoresin will be lost.
    • The peeled rhizome is washed and uniformly sun-dried for a week. The dry ginger is rubbed together to remove dry foreign matter.
    • This type of dried produce is known as unbleached ginger. Depending upon the variety, on an average, 16-25 kg dried ginger is obtained from 100 kg green ginger, i.e., the yield of dry ginger is 16-25% of the green ginger.
    • Dried ginger forms the major bulk of international trade. It is exported as whole or in split forms and is ground at the consuming centres. It is also used for preparation of its extractives, ginger oleoresin and ginger oil.
    Bleached ginger
    • To prepare bleached ginger (white), the fresh rhizomes are peeled off and soaked in 2 per cent lime water for about 6 hours.
    • The produce is then removed and dried for 5-6 days and rubbed with a piece of gunny cloth to give the desired dried appearance.
    Preserved ginger
    • This is prepared from immature rhizomes, mostly for export purposes.
    • Discounting green ginger preserved in brine, the two forms of processed,
    preserved ginger entering the market are:
    1. Preserved ginger in sugar syrup
    2. Dry or crystallised ginger
    Wherein ginger is impregnated with sugar syrup, dried and coated with crystalline sugar and must be harvested while they are still immature, tender, succulent, and mild in pungency, usually under 7 months of age.
    • For processing, the salted ginger is removed from the acidified brine, washed and soaked in cold water for 2 days, changing the water several times.
    • It is then placed in cold water, which is heated in syrup for 10 minutes, after which the ginger is removed and pricked with a fork.
    • The ginger is then boiled in syrup for 45 minutes.
    • It is left in the syrup to soak for 2 days or more, and then reboiled for 45 minutes after which it is packed in fresh syrup.
    • The quantity of syrup used depends on the market for which the ginger is intended.

Last modified: Sunday, 11 March 2012, 5:06 AM