infuso di tè e zenzero / infusion of tea and ginger

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

In the previous post, I mentioned that from our recent visit to the Big Island I brought back some locally grown organic ginger. Until I moved to the US, zenzero for me was only an ingredient used in the pan di zenzero (gingerbread) featured in fairy tales (favole). My horizon has since expanded, yet ginger maintains an aura of exoticism. According to this informative page

Ginger, the underground stem, or rhizome, of the plant Zingiber officinale has been used as a medicine in Asian, Indian, and Arabic herbal traditions since ancient times. In China, for example, ginger has been used to aid digestion and treat stomach upset, diarrhea, and nausea for more than 2,000 years.

I like tea and since coming back from our trip I have been treating myself to a delicious infusion of tea and ginger. I have some nice Indian tea (a gift from my dear friend Christine) that pairs well with ginger. I bring water to a boil and pour it into the cup (tazza) where the tea infuser is, as usual, but where there are also 2-3 thin slices of ginger, freshly cut. I don't peel the ginger, but clean it well with a vegetable brush before slicing it (remember that it is organic — bio in Italian, short for da coltivazione biologica). I let the ginger infuse longer than the tea (basically, I leave it in the cup after I remove the tea infuser). I like the resulting flavor, which is pleasantly gingery. I have also tried the combination with some oolong tea and again the result was quite nice.

Besides providing me with gustatory pleasure, drinking my infuso di tè e zenzero has helped me overcome some digestive disturbances that have affected me recently.

This is my contribution to edition #219 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by yours truly.

This post presents the roundup of the event.

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Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post: 

infuso di tè e zenzero

or launch the infuso di tè e zenzero  audio file [mp3].

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infuso di tè e zenzero

Nel post precedente ho raccontato di aver riportato a casa dal nostro recente viaggio nella Big Island (isola di Hawaii) dello zenzero bio coltivato localmente. Prima che mi trasferissi in California, per me lo zenzero era solo un ingrediente usato per fare il pan di zenzero delle favole. Da allora, i miei orizzonti si sono allargati, ma lo zenzero mantiene un non so che di esotico. Secondo quanto riportato su questa pagina ricca di informazioni (in inglese, traduzione mia)

Lo zenzero, il rizoma della pianta Zingiber officinale, è usato fin dall'antichità nelle tradizioni medicinali asiatica, indiana e araba. In Cina, per esempio, lo zenzero è usato da oltre 2000 anni per il trattamento di disturbi di stomaco, diarrea e nausea.

Il tè mi piace molto e da quando siamo tornati a casa dal recente viaggio mi concedo spesso un delizioso infuso di tè e zenzero. Ho del buon tè indiano (regalatomi dalla mia amica Christine) che si sposa bene con lo zenzero. Porto ad ebollizione l'acqua e la verso nella tazza dove c'è l'infusore del tè, come al solito, ma dove ci sono anche 2-3 fettine di zenzero appena tagliate. Non sbuccio lo zenzero, ma prima di tagliarlo lo pulisco bene con uno spazzolino per verdure (ricordatevi che è bio). Lascio infondere lo zenzero più a lungo del tè (in pratica, lo lascio nella tazza dopo che ho rimosso l'infusore con il tè). La bevanda che ottengo mi piace molto: ha un sapore piacevolmente "zenzeroso" (parola inventata in questo momento). Ho anche provato l'accoppiata con tè oolong e anche in questo caso il risultato è stato di mio gradimento.

A parte il piacere gustativo, bere il mio infuso di tè e zenzero mi ha aiutato a trattare dei disturbi digestivi che ho avuto di recente.

Comments

[Kalynskitchen]

Tea with ginger sounds good. Thanks for hosting, my mind is not on WHB lately, too many things are keeping me from being able to focus on blogging these days.

[Merisi]

When I was in Rome last September, I looked for zenzero at Capo de' Fiori and several of the stores in the neighborhood (I rented an apartment just off the square), but could not find any. The same in Florence last year, even at the large supermarket they only looked at me as if I surely was not asking for "fresh" ginger root. ;-)

[Merisi]

Sorry, Giordano Bruno is still at the "Campo"! ;-)

[Paz]

Oh my! I just had some ginger tea yesterday for the first time and it was REALLY good. I'd love to have a taste of your ginger-made tea.

Paz (a tea drinker, too)

[Joanne]

This tea sounds delicious! I will take a cup please :)

Awesome job with the roundup. Everything looks so delicious.

[brii]

I love ginger, simona..
usually I don't use any tea, just the ginger slices. (infusion)
must try your idea.
baciusss

[Simona Carini]

Hi Kalyn and thanks for your message. I hope those things are interesting.

Ciao Merisi. I am not surprised. An apartment off Campo de' Fiori sounds nice.

Glad to read you liked ginger tea. I find my infusion very soothing.

Thanks, Joanne. It was my pleasure.

Ciao Brii. I hope you'll like it.

[r4 firmware]

Hello
Ginger tea is my favorite and it is also good for our health.This combination of tea and ginger is fantastic.Thank you for this informative post.

[astrofiammante]

mi hai dato una bella idea, proverò anch'io a metterlo in qualche infuso....se poi aiuta a superare qualche malessere digestivo...ben venga, son contenta tu stia meglio, bacio!

- Briii, parla italianooo ;-)))

[Lisa]

I love ginger; why haven't I ever thought to put it with regular tea? Usually it's only when I'm sick that I think to make a "tea" by soaking slices of ginger in boiling water for a while, then adding quite a lot of honey and some lemon juice.

Speaking of digestive disturbances: I also like to keep a jar of pickled ginger (such as you get with sushi -- Ginger People makes one w/o food coloring) around, and if my tummy feels funny, I eat a few slices. Or more than a few. :)

[Foodycat]

Ginger tea is lovely - so comforting to an unhappy tummy! Your ginger looks so plump and fresh.

[Simona Carini]

Hi everybody, it seems like we all like ginger and rely on it to help us overcome rough times.

Lisa, now you made me wonder how difficult it would be to make pickled ginger at home. I like it a lot.

In my infusion with tea, I like how the flavors are in a nice balance.

Indeed, Foodycat, the ginger looks so nice, I almost feel bad about consuming it.

Astro, la prossima volta che vengo in Italia vediamo se riusciamo ad organizzare qualcosa.

[FreeMsPointsGuy]

never really tried ginger. sounds good

[Neeraja Patwardhan]

Thats really interesting...
No not the combo.. the reactions..
please dont get me wrong.. :)
Ginger tea is so so so common here in India. And you here about it since your childhood. The first cup of tea you have is normally a tea infused with ginger. After a tiring and stressful event you relax with a cup if ginger tea..
It is so normal and regular to us that it is funny to see someone reacting to it as if this is a novelty.
Every household here as their own way of making ginger tea. I have mine. Its different than in the post above. The main ingredient being milk.

Anyway, Somehow I stumbled upon your blog. I liked it. I may ask you too many questions for many ingredients in different recipes of yours, to figure out what cud be the most suitable equivalent here.
Thanks,
Neeraja Patwardhan

[Simona Carini]

Dear Neeraja, I will say the same thing about your comment: it is very interesting for me to know that in India ginger tea is a common drink for all ages. After experiencing on myself the nice effect, I can certainly understand. Growing up in Italy a number of years ago, ginger was pretty much unknown to me. I never saw ginger root in the stores and since my mother was not into baking or spices, ginger powder was also unknown. In fact, gingerbread was something that happened only in fairy tales. I learned to use and appreciate ginger after moving to California, though it has kept an aura of exoticism that I kind of enjoy: I don't take it for granted as an ingredient.

Thank you so much for your kind words. And don't worry about asking questions: I will be more than happy to answer them.