Avon asks which gingers are edible:
Dear David,
I read your article in the recent Heirloom Gardener Magazine with great interest because I have grown ginger on and off for many years, especially when I lived in LA but have also grown it in pots indoors. My plants were made up mostly of leaves and I always wondered if those leaves were safe to eat. You said that they are and I am wondering if you have any reservations at all about eating them or using them for flavor, much like a bay leaf.
Also are all ginger plants the same or might some have toxic leaves?
Thank you for your time. (I did sign up for your newsletters and look forward to receiving them.)
Avon
First of all, it’s a great idea to grow your own ginger and I very much enjoyed having the chance to write for Heirloom Gardener magazine.
My article ended up making the front cover:
One reason to grow your own ginger is you don’t always know how store-bought ginger is being produced:
“Farmers in Shandong have been overusing an illegal and highly toxic pesticide to grow ginger for years on end, adding yet another concern to the country’s growing list of food scandals.
An investigative report by China Central Television (CCTV), which aired on Saturday, discovered farmers in Weifang city had been using the pesticide aldicarb “three to six times” above the recommended level. The pesticide is not approved for use on ginger.
Aldicarb – branded in China as Shennongdan – is a highly poisonous carbamate pesticide that the Ministry of Agriculture says can be only used on cotton, tobacco, peanuts, roses and sweet potatoes, albeit under strict controls.
Exposure in high quantities can lead to dizziness, blurred vision, nausea and respiratory failure. Just 50 milligrams of aldicarb is enough to kill a person weighing 50kg, the report said.
The CCTV report said farmers in Weifang had been using 120 to 300kg of the pesticide per hectare, nearly three to six times above the level considered safe.
One farmer interviewed by CCTV said she was aware of aldicarb’s toxicity and did not use it on ginger that her family ate. Another said he had been using aldicarb for more than 20 years since it was first introduced to the market.”
But Avon isn’t asking about toxic chemicals in store-bought ginger. She wants to know if all ginger plants are edible.
Let’s get digging.
Ornamental Gingers and Edible Gingers
When I worked in a plant nursery owned by some good friends of mine, I got to meet a lot of beautiful gingers. They had spiral gingers and butterfly gingers, shampoo gingers and blue gingers… it was a cornucopia of wonderful gingers.
Unfortunately, these were all “ornamental” types. Though that doesn’t mean they aren’t edible.
Edible Gingers
Many of the ornamental varieties are edible in certain ways. For example, butterfly ginger (Hedychium coronarium) is reported to have edible roots and blooms.
Shampoo ginger (Zingiber zerumbet) has edible roots but they taste bitter and are not worth eating. Trust me. I’ve tried them.
The “cardamom ginger” often sold in Florida (Alpinia calcarata), though it’s not the true cardamom, has leaves that have an earthy flavor and can be used like bay or cumin.
Shell ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) has leaves that make a tasty tea.
This variegated form of shell ginger is commonly sold by nurseries.
Common ginger and its cousin turmeric are edible in all their parts, so if you have those – use them however you like. The leaves are coarse in texture, so they’re not good in salads, but they are good to add seasoning to dishes and for tea.
You can learn more about how to grow turmeric here.
Turmeric is easy to growTorch Ginger has edible uses as well. According to Hawaiian Plants and Tropical Flowers: “The unopened flower buds are edible and very flavorful, and they are used in Southeast Asian cooking.”
As for toxic leaves on ornamental ginger species, I cannot find any reports of poisonous ornamental gingers. I have heard none of them are toxic but I cannot say for sure. It’s safer to stick to eating known edible species. Ginger is a friendly family of plants but you never know.
Thanks for writing, Avon, and may your thumbs always be green.
You can learn more about ginger and other excellent plants for Florida in the beautiful expanded and illustrated 2nd edition of Create Your Own Florida Food Forest.
*Ginger image by Julian Fong. CC License.
You can have greener thumbs by this weekend!
59 comments
I have just removed a “ginger plant” and it has like fingers on its roots, and I tasted it and it is very nice, I am wondering if it is the Chinese finger ginger? Do you know of this one, or is it just the one that grows in the garden, mine never flowered but started to really take over the garden. Please let me know asap, as I would love to add it to a salad.
Where to purchase edible ginger? Do I just buy a root from the grocery store? But then I won’t know what it’s scientific name is. Please help. I’d really rather grow my own.
Thank you in advance.
What kind of ginger has little white flowers, lime green leaves grows about 4 feet tall?
Probably butterfly ginger.
I bought a packet of ginger (ginger roots) from a fresh produce market up int the hills 2 years ago & have been growing it in a pot the roots look & smell like a ginger ..but the growth doesn’t look like any pictures of ginger plants I’ve seen. It grew to about 6ft last year… but i think it was chasing the light (its never flowered), ive repotted it &moved it to a very sunny aspect & so far its grown to about 5ft & is loving the new place. It has very fine short hairs on the trunk & the leaves have a sandpaper like feel…what sort of ginger could this be?
Send me a picture when you get a chance.
I find it very difficult to get a simple answer to a simple question. Which ginger plant has the root that you can cook with? I have been growing ginger plants from a plant I bought at Home Depot. It has a white flower when it blooms and the stalks grow a good 5 feet tall. Is this or is it not the same ginger root that is in the produce department of all the grocery stores?
Probably not. Send me a picture, though, and I’ll see if I can ID it. I am here: david@thesurvivalgardener.com.
If you want edible ginger, just plant the roots from the grocery store.
Diana, the ginger which is considered the “SPICE” Ginger is Zingiber officinale, however many other gingers have a culinary use also.
Thank you. Oddly there isn’t much on this variety on the internet. I entered it into a search engine and got one place that sells it and a few ads for something that I didn’t look at. I’ll keep an eye out for it. Thanks again
I have a variety of what I believe to be Hidden Ginger. I am curious to know if the roots are edible or toxic.
So far as I know, there are no poisonous “true” gingers. I can’t find info on Hidden Ginger, though.
Connie, hidden ginger is arrowroot.
Is the ginger red pinecone plant roots (or other parts) edible?
Yes, but they don’t taste good.
I just bought some ginger, and when I chew it , it tasted so bitter. What type of ginger is it, and what are the benefits of this bitter ginger?
Sounds like shampoo ginger, but I can’t identify the type for sure just by knowing it is bitter.
You could plant some and see what it grows in to.
I just bought the green and white ginger plant. What is it’s real name and is it edible
It’s probably variegated shell ginger, if it has a nice aroma when you crush the leaves. I used to use it for tea. There are spiral gingers which are also variegated, though, and I don’t think they’re edible.
I am trying to find out more about Red ginger which is used as a sweet spice (powdered) in Indonesia. It is not regular plain old white ginger. The flavor is stronger and has a higher medicinal value especially for stomach issues. Do you know what ginger this is? The only translation I could get from Bahasa was red ginger. I am trying to grow it myself as it is delightful ginger in sweets and as a medicinal tea. Nearly everything on the internet says red ginger is not edible but this variety in Indonesia and I have heard also is in the Philippines is delicious. Thanks so much!
No part of any ginger is toxic, so it’s okay to experiment. Some gingers you eat the rhizomes, others like Alpinia nutans, which is quite often sold as cardamon (another ginger) use can use the leaves to flavor other foods, I like to layer it in my marinade before cooking chicken. Alpinia galanga, you can use the entire plant, the fresh blooms taste like peppery citrus, I pluck the blooms off many of my Costus gingers. The inflorescence on all Curcuma gingers is edible, just cut it off before it begins to open and use it in stir-fries or soups, they are delicious. I have been a ginger addict for 20 years, I just love them!
I guess I should clarify my question. Which ginger plant is the same as the one sold in grocery stores as ginger root?
Zingiber officianale, which isn’t very ornamental (small green cones), though it looks vaguely like a tiny bamboo and that might fit in the sort of Japanese garden that is supposed to be peaceful/relaxing but not showy. As David already said, start it from grocery store rhizomes. That way is cheaper and you know they are edible. Ethically minded “ginger lily” merchants probably won’t sell it because it just isn’t very pretty.
thank you!
Hi David, i am trying to find/buy indonesian red ginger to be planted, any idea? i read an article that it is medicinal value.
many thanx
art
I have asked him and heard nothing back. I have spent a great deal of time in Indonesia and the Philippines and cannot find a source for red ginger in the states. I am looking into importing it.
I don’t know anything about it.
It is edible Zingiber officinale var. Rubra it is actually medicinal. Hard to find here. Thank you! My son lives in Indonesia and it is in great demand right now. I am trying to get him to send me some as he has an export business there!
Good morning.. Is Curcuma petiolata edible?
I would like to know the answer to the question from Michael Jameson on July 1, 2019. Thanks.
Everyone suggested buying ginger at the grocery store and growing a plant from that. I am trying but I am Leary of it working as the ginger foot from the store has been refrigerated for who knows how long after the processing it goes through first. I put a piece in the ground a few weeks ago, nothing grew so I tried to dig it up but it’s just gone. I’ve got another piece half covered in water to see if it will sprout roots. It’s been a week and nothing yet.
**UPDATE**The store bought ginger root never sprouted. It just rotted in the water. I have since purchased ginger root from a dealer on Etsy. So far, so good. It’s growing though slowly.
I just read this. Seems like the store bought root probably won’t sprout. “Traditionally, the rhizome is gathered when the stalk withers; it is immediately scalded, or washed and scraped, to kill it and prevent sprouting.”
**UPDATE**The store bought ginger root never sprouted. It just rotted in the water. I have since purchased ginger root from a dealer on Etsy. So far, so good. It’s growing though slowly.
Don’t start them in water – they will usually rot. Plant them in soil.
I’ve sprouted several bits of store bought ginger. Here’s the trick – let a good size root sit on the counter in well ventilated and indirect light area. Just ignore it a while. After a few weeks it will shrivel at the ends but the various bulbs will start to pop out little nubs that start out kinda whitish then later the tips will tinge green. Much depends on the size of the original rhizome as to the timing. But essentially, once you’ve seen a little nub pop out it’s ready to plant. Remember to plant it in it’s natural direction. They grow horizontally, the nub pointing up, in soft well draing soil. They soak up plenty of water but they hate to sit in soggy pots, so set some rocks at the bottom of your pot before the soil and the plant will send little threads down to reach into the water below while it spreads itself out above. Don’t plant too deeply. Water often, but never soggy. Set in good light. Good luck
Good trick – thanks.
Great advice, I’ve been doing mine this way for over a decade, works every time. I always buy from the grocery store. Currently, I have the first one I’ve ever had to bloom, looks like it’ll be red, I’m so excited to see the flower.
My friend gave me several ginger roots. She said they have yellow and white flowers and grow to about 5 ft tall. The roots were very knobby. Do you think this is edible. She said that’s all she knew. I would love to know if these roots are edible. Thank you
It’s hard to say. Gingers are not poisonous, however. You might nip off a corner of a root and see if they smell like ginger.
Also do you dry the root before consuming or just use as is and how to store it?
I have what I have been told is pink shell ginger. It has made seeds that are about the size of a key lime. Are these seeds eatable . The animals don’t eat them. This is a very aggressive growing and spreading plant. It’s taking over. Lots of fruit.
Dave, I have tons of the white butterfly ginger and would like to know where to sell it and how much to charge. (By size or weight?) Have a blessed day, Judy
I’m not sure – are you hoping to sell it to plant enthusiasts?
My ginger plants are the red pinecone. The roots look just like the store bought ginger but neither smell like ginger nor (I assume) taste at all pungent and pleasant. I wonder if good-tasting ginger will grow in the acidic soil under the river oaks as these flourishing ornamentals.
In the 1980s, in L.A. my wife and I drove a fashion model home after a photo session and a tenet in her building was harvesting some ginger planted in his front yard. We were given a few roots, maybe a pound, which we planted, grew and are still eating our harvests to this day. We are interested in expanding into other roots that we see in oriental stores. We also grow many herbs.
That is an awesome story. Good work!
Ginger root is a great source of minerals but please plant in soil free of the toxic minerals – heavy metals such as lead and cadmium. Sad but true, the plant also absorbs those. So I will resist temptation to plant it around this old house where generations of lead paint undoubtedly are in the soil. Just as an example, here’s an analysis of minerals in Ethiopian ginger root which the authors conclude does not contain lead (and neither does the soil it grows in, which is probably why the root doesn’t). Thank goodness. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4356677/
I bought a Ginger Root in Hawaii. I planted it in Florida. It is growing beautifully and the White Flowers smell amazing, almost like Gardenia but milder.
Is this Root edible.
Mary Ann Hoge
Email some pictures of the plants and blooms when you get a chance: david@floridafoodforests.com
Apparently figuring out what kind of ginger they sell in the store for cooking is a far more difficult thing tan it should be. I’m going to ask the produce manager at my store
I bought a couple tri-color gingers at Lowes this spring and have them growing in pots on my front porch. Are these edible?
If they are true gingers, they shouldn’t be toxic. Palatability varies, however.
[…] spike and is tall. There is a tiny white flower inside each red bract that makes up the spike. The Malay ginger flower is about 2 inches (5 centimeters) wide and 2 inches (5 centimeters) long. Flame ginger flowers may […]
I have a question that I cannot find an answer to. I have tons of the butterfly ginger and use the rhizomes to ferment in honey, and also for tincture, etc. I also feed some to my pet pygmy goats to help with worming. I love it and enjoy the flowers!. My question is ….I have rather substantial white roots that grow off the rhizomes. (small stringy ones also but I discard them) Are these larger roots useful as the rhizomes also? Thank you!
They’re not poisonous, but they may be too stringy. I have not tried.
I bought a house with ginger plants growing in it. It has been in the ground for about 18 yrs. Will the ginger still be edible? If not, how do I get new growth and be able to harvest it?
Is Dancing Lady Ginger safe for culinary use?
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