Many people believe that fresh ginger and dried ginger are the same, differing only in their freshness and drying process; however, this is not the case.
“Fresh ginger, the fresh rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale Rosc, is pungent and warm, dispersing cold and relieving the exterior, warming the middle and stopping vomiting, transforming phlegm and stopping cough, and detoxifying fish and crab poison; dried ginger, the dried rhizome of Zingiber officinale Rosc, is pungent and hot, warming the middle and dispersing cold, restoring yang and unblocking the meridians, and drying dampness and transforming phlegm.” Although both have the effect of warming the middle and dispersing cold, fresh ginger primarily relieves the exterior, while dried ginger primarily warms the interior. Fresh ginger is milder in spiciness and of lower quality, whereas dried ginger is more pungent and of better quality. So why do both come from the same plant yet have such different functions?
The main reason is that their sources differ. Dried ginger is made from the old rhizomes of ginger, while fresh ginger comes from the fresh rhizomes; it is not simply that dried ginger is processed from fresh ginger. What are old rhizomes? Old rhizomes are also known as “mother ginger” or “old ginger.” Ginger reproduces through its rhizomes, and during its growth, the mother root does not rot but grows alongside the child roots. When harvested, both the child and mother roots are collected. The mother root is brown, firm in texture, fibrous, low in moisture, and has a strong pungency, commonly referred to as “mother ginger.” Generally, fresh ginger has a growth cycle of only one year, while dried ginger takes three years.
Additionally, if dried ginger is quickly stir-fried in a pot over high heat until the outside is golden brown while still retaining the ginger aroma inside, it is called “stir-fried ginger”; of course, some pots use sand for stir-frying, directly frying until the surface turns black and the inside brown, which is also known as “black ginger,” or ginger charcoal. According to the principle of “stir-fried charcoal retains properties,” stir-fried ginger and ginger charcoal are also warming interior medicines, with properties similar to dried ginger, but due to the heating and stir-frying, some components may have decomposed or deteriorated, making their warming properties slightly weaker and their efficacy less intense.
Wushan Branch of Dongyang People’s Hospital