Suffering from a cold? Our team is putting together a series of traditional remedies for cold to share with everyone. Plus you'll be able to find these ingredients in our weekly gleaning mystery box, we also encourage you to contact us if you know anyone who needs help with food during this very moment, we have a community program that supports families in need. Our community shop is open to everybody, a place where everyone can enjoy food with dignity.
It's all happening in a small town in China
I came from a small town called Dandong, in the Northern East of China. Winter can be pretty cold -12° and the whole city is covered in white.
When I was young, ginger is not my thing because of its spiciness. Whenever I was sick and my nana would make me drink this ginger, lemon and honey water. I have to admit that it really works, with the high Vitamin C in lemons and the yang (hot) properties of ginger, this drink is believed by the Chinese, to warm your stomach, remove cold from the body, soothe your throat and increase immunities.
It's not only a cold remedy that works but also reminds my childhood memory with my nana. That's not only warming my body and my mind, my heart.
I hope you'd feel the same way, the deep down heartwarming feeling after drinking this humble drink from my nana. ( I think this remedy is well known by all grandmas globally)
Check this simple recipe on bbcgoodfood, remember to add honey, honey
What is Ginger?
Ginger is in the family Zingiberaceae, which also includes turmeric. Ginger originated from Maritime Southeast Asia. It is a true cultigen and does not exist in its wild state.
The part we eat now is the root, and ginger has beautiful yellow flowers and leaves are editable too.
In 2020, global production of ginger was 4.3 million tonnes, led by India with 43% of the world's total. Nigeria, China, and Nepal also had substantial production. (FAO)
Between 2019 and 2020 the exports of Ginger grew by 34.7%, from $1.09B to $1.47B.
Although India is the biggest producer of ginger but only represents 1% of the export market.
Exports In 2020 the top exporters of Ginger were China ($758M), the Netherlands ($127M), Peru ($111M), India ($94.2M), and Thailand ($64.1M).
Imports In 2020 the top importers of Ginger were the Netherlands ($174M), the United States ($170M), Pakistan ($94.6M), Japan ($87.5M), and Bangladesh ($84.7M).
Common use in Asian dishes, i.e. pickled ginger served on the side of Japanese sushi, Ginger onion stir-fried beef, Indian food commonly use ginger powder, Thai food.
Ginger also made delicious dessert, an authentic sweet called ginger milk curd is also one of my favourites.
What's citrus?
Growers produce around 30,000 tonnes of citrus each year. To put this into perspective, world citrus production is 60 million tonnes. New Zealand’s contribution to global citrus production is less than 0.05%.
Citrus is mainly produced in Gisborne and Northland. The most recent statistics for the 2020 season are summarised below.
Over 50% of growers are growing mandarins and oranges, compares to only 18 growers of grapefruits, 28 growers of tangelos, and 47 growers of limes. (CitrusNZ)
This year it's been what we call an 'on' year – citrus trees are naturally biannual – so every second year there is naturally a better-sized crop.
We rescued over 6000kg of citrus since last season, and all these fruits are not good for sale. Recently we went to Gisborne and visited a few growers in the region, there's about 20% of the waste citrus has left behind in the orchard. Things like damaged skin during cutting, too big or too small, and too many scars on skins. There's also an issue with colours like only green limes can be sold to retailers, ruby red grapefruits are not so red due to mild weather temperature differences but the taste is still the best.
A lemon tree that every neighbourhood might have one or dozen, you just have to look for it and ask for surplus.
We're continuing to rescue citrus this season, so please support our mission and try these tips to share delicious with people you love. Love Food Hate Waste
