Hi, my name is Kristie. I'm going to talk to you about ginger. Did you know that ginger is made from a rhizome? A rhizome is a stem underground that brings food and water to a plant.
    Ginger comes from the bottom of the gingern plant. It was introduced in Japan, South America, West Indies, and West Africa.
    When ginger is a year old, it is picked. It is washed, dried, bleached, peeled and unpeeled. Then they finally ship it.
    There are many kinds of ginger. There are Black ginger, Japanese ginger, wild or bitter ginger, Zerumbet ginger, and others. Did you know that there are four main varieties of spice? They are black, white, dried, and preserved. Dried ginger is made by washing and drying the rhizomes. Black ginger is prepared by scaling the rhizomes with water and drying it. White ginger is the outer parts of the rhizome. Some rhizomes are sometimes peeled and unpeeled before washing and drying.
    You need ginger for seasoning kinds of foods and baking. It is kind of tangy. It is in syrup, pumpkin pie, gingerbread cookies, other foods, and even beverages. I just love pumpkin pie because it has ginger in it!

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