What isDried Ginger? We Have Been Using It Incorrectly for Years
A few days ago, I listened to a teacher from a certain academy during a live lecture discussing dried ginger. He stated that dried ginger is made from fresh ginger that is sliced and dried. I typed in the chat, “Dried ginger is made from mother ginger,” but the teacher did not respond. I thought perhaps he was not paying attention during the class. The teacher graduated from a certain TCM university, so he shouldn’t make such a basic mistake, right? When I opened the “Traditional Chinese Medicine” textbook, I discovered that it was not the teacher who was wrong, but rather the textbook that stated this, and the professor taught it that way.
The “Traditional Chinese Medicine” textbook states: “Dried ginger: This product is the dried rhizome of the ginger plant (Zingiber officinale). It is harvested in winter, with the fibrous roots and soil removed, then sun-dried or dried at low temperatures. Freshly sliced and dried or low-temperature dried ginger is called dried ginger slices, while thick slices or chunks can be used fresh or charred.” I believe this statement is debatable. Li Shizhen stated: “Dried ginger is made from mother ginger, and the white, firm ones are the best. All medicinal uses should be soaked before use.”
“Mother ginger” is not the same as “fresh ginger.” Anyone familiar with the ginger planting process knows that when planting ginger, the mother ginger is buried in the soil. Mother ginger is fresh ginger with buds. When fresh ginger is harvested, the appearance and weight of the planted mother ginger remain almost unchanged. Ginger farmers are familiar with the saying: “Ginger pays for itself,” which refers to this situation, where the initially planted mother ginger can recoup its cost. (Strictly speaking, it does not recoup the cost because there are also labor, watering, fertilizing, and other expenses involved.)
“Dried ginger is made from mother ginger,” means that when fresh ginger is harvested, the mother ginger is also harvested and dried to make dried ginger. Tao Hongjing mentioned: “For making dried ginger: soak in water for three days, peel, place in running water for six days, then peel again, and finally dry in the sun, and place in a porcelain jar to ferment for three days, and it is done.” Here, it does not clearly state whether fresh ginger or mother ginger is used as the raw material.
Some people also say that dried ginger is obtained by exposing fresh ginger during planting, allowing it to dry. This statement also lacks evidence.
In medicinal use, there are also prepared ginger, roasted ginger, and ginger charcoal. Prepared ginger is made from fresh ginger, slowly cooked without direct fire, and is used in Xiao Yao Wan (Free and Easy Wanderer Pill). Roasted ginger is processed more deeply than prepared ginger and is mainly used to treat blood loss. Ginger charcoal is made by frying fresh ginger into charcoal, which has a relatively minor effect.
1. Differences Between Dried Ginger and Fresh Ginger
(1) Dried Ginger
1. Properties: Pungent, hot. Enters the spleen, stomach, kidney, heart, and lung meridians.
2. Effects: Warms the middle, disperses cold, restores yang, opens the meridians, warms the lungs, and transforms phlegm.
3. Applications:
(1) Warms the middle and disperses cold, can be used for spleen and stomach deficiency cold syndrome.
(2) Restores yang and opens the meridians, used for symptoms of yang collapse such as weak pulse and cold limbs.
(3) Warms the lungs and transforms phlegm, used for cough and wheezing due to cold phlegm in the lungs.
(2) Fresh Ginger
1. Properties: Pungent, slightly warm. Enters the lung, spleen, and stomach meridians.
2. Effects: Releases the exterior, disperses cold, warms the middle, stops vomiting, transforms phlegm, and detoxifies seafood.
3. Applications:
(1) Can dispel wind and cold, commonly used for symptoms such as chills, fever, headache, and nasal congestion caused by wind-cold invasion.
(2) Can stop vomiting, used for various types of vomiting due to stomach cold, known as the “sacred medicine for vomiting.”
(3) Can transform phlegm and stop cough, used for cough due to cold phlegm.
(4) Can detoxify seafood.
(3) Similarities and Differences
1. Similarities
Both can warm the middle, but dried ginger is more potent.
2. Differences
Fresh ginger has the effect of descending and stopping vomiting, generally used for gastrointestinal diseases.
2. When is the best time to eat fresh ginger?
There are folk sayings: “Eat radish in winter, eat ginger in summer, no need for a doctor’s prescription”; “Radish at bedtime, ginger in the morning, no need for a doctor’s prescription.” Are these sayings reasonable?
Generally, from 9 PM to 11 PM, the time of the pig is when yin energy is most abundant. Yin energy needs to be stored. If fresh ginger is consumed at this time, it will activate yang energy, which can be said to mobilize it upwards, making it difficult for yang energy to settle down, which is not conducive to the consolidation of yang energy. Therefore, it is recommended to eat less ginger at night.
The reasons for avoiding fresh ginger in winter and at night are similar.
3. Children Should Not Use Fresh Ginger Frequently
Fresh ginger has a relatively dispersive aroma, and children have a more rounded excess of yang energy, with insufficient yin essence. If they frequently drink ginger water or consume too much fresh ginger, this hot and dry substance can easily deplete them.
Fresh ginger is a good thing, both a medicine and a good ingredient. In our daily lives, it is generally used as a seasoning, and the intake is relatively small, so there is no need to overly worry about the above-mentioned cautions.