"ginger" news and stories

With its knobby texture, ginger root is easier to tackle with a spoon than a knife.

When you're out of fresh ginger, the dried, whole variety is a wonderful pinch hitter.

Looking at this makes us want to dive headfirst into a vat of thick, luxurious ice cream and spend the entire summer there.

The idea of ice cream on its own is refreshing enough, but the idea of ginger ice cream -- presented here by the lovely duo behind Rec(ession)ipes -- is a particularly palate-cleansing one. Ginger, a digestive aid, has been soothing stomachs and clearing sinuses for centuries. It's the perfect foil for the rich, heavy cream and eggs called for in most ice cream recipes. Texture-wise, too, it makes a happy bedfellow: biting down on a chunk of candied ginger is a curiously satisfying experience, like finding the prize in a box of Cracker Jacks. Altogether, the idea of ginger ice cream leaves us so ferklempt that we call upon poet Wallace Stevens to find the words that we cannot: "The only emperor," he once wrote, "is the emperor of ice cream."

[Via Rec(ession)ipes]

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It's been remarkably frigid out here on the east coast of late and the bone chilling weather seems to be bringing with it another round of sniffles and head colds. Doctors advise that there's not much to do for a cold other than drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest. We can't help you with the rest, but I've got a tasty suggestion for making those liquids go down easy.

Whip up a quick infusion of honey, lemon and ginger. Simply grate a half inch chunk of ginger into a large mug. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon in on top (you can also add the zest if you're feeling daring) and add a heaping teaspoonful of honey (feel free to adjust the sweetness level to your personal taste). Fill the cup with boiling water and stir to combine. Drink while still warm and repeat as necessary.

It will soothe a sore throat, help with the cough (truly, honey has been found in scientific studies to calm a cough nearly as well as cough syrup) and taste good to boot!

I do most of my cocktail inventing around the holidays. The reason for this is twofold. One, I always visit my parents and they possess a liquor cabinet that shames some bars, not only in actual number of bottles, but also in the array of top-shelf and/or rare liquors. Two, when does one find oneself in need of a drink more than the holidays?

Whether it's the merriment of celebration, the release of stress, or simply the desire to take a breather from all the socializing by indulging in a brief respite behind the bar, December is the time for mixing. And also for giving, so allow me to give you my two newly-invented cocktails for 2008: the Ginger-Pear Cocktail and the Nihilist.