Fresh Ginger

Fresh ginger is one of the most important flavouring ingredients in the world, bringing a distinctive warm, sharp, slightly sweet heat to both savoury and sweet dishes. Its flavour is cleaner and more vibrant than dried or powdered ginger, with bright citrusy notes alongside the characteristic spicy warmth.

Ginger is indispensable in Asian cooking — from stir-fries and curries to soups and marinades. It’s equally at home in baking (gingerbread, biscuits), drinks (ginger tea, ginger beer), and preserves. A knob of fresh ginger, grated or finely sliced, transforms a simple dish.

Australia grows excellent ginger, primarily in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast hinterland around Buderim, which has been synonymous with ginger production for over a century. Fresh Australian ginger is available year-round.

Farmed
photograph to come — from twenty years of markets, farms and kitchens

How it's made

Ginger is a tropical plant grown from pieces of rhizome (the underground stem) planted in warm, moist conditions. The plant grows lush green shoots above ground while the rhizome expands and branches underground over eight to ten months. At harvest, the entire plant is dug up and the rhizomes are separated from the stems and roots. The rhizomes are washed, trimmed, and sold fresh. Young ginger harvested early in the season is more tender with a thinner skin, while mature ginger has a tougher skin and more intense flavour.

Nutrition (per 100g)

Energy 80kcal
Protein 1.8g
Carbs 15.8g
Fat 0.8g
Fibre 2g Sugar 1.7g
Mass Distribution

5 slices (1" dia) is about 11 g — roughly 10 kcal of this.

What it costs the planet (per kilo)

Carbon ≈0.4kg
Freshwater ≈28L
Land ≈0.3m²

≈ Estimated — worked out from a category-typical value further up its supply chain. Where this comes from →

Where it comes from

In the kitchen

Used as

aromatic spice base

Goes well with
garlic soy sauce lime chili scallion sesame
Classic dishes
  • Ginger chicken stir-fry
  • Gingerbread
  • Thai green curry
  • Ginger tea

Keeping one at home? Track yours in your cubud →

Where this data comes from

Nutrition data from

USDA

How it was calculated

SR Legacy

Full credits, licences, and methods: the sources page →

Where to next

made fromGinger, rhizome goes well withgarlic goes well withsoy sauce goes well withlime goes well withscallion goes well withsesame shares a sourceGinger Ale & Ginger Beer shares a sourceGround Ginger shares a sourcePickled Ginger
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