A while ago I saw some jarred sushi ginger (which is sliced strips of pickled ginger), and it brought back memories. As I've probably mentioned previously, I've had a ton of sushi in my life--surely hundreds of pounds of it, or more. On some of my archaeological projects on the road I literally ate sushi 4-5 times a week. (Looking back, it's a wonder that I didn't die from mercury poisoning.) Anyway, sushi ginger is a very common garnish on sushi servings, kind of like a type of solid, warm sorbet. Meaning I've also eaten quite a lot of sushi ginger in my time on Earth as well. Which I've liked so much that I've also consumed containers of sushi ginger without the sushi, all by itself. All of this is to try to explain some of my culinary obsessions. The jar I'll discuss today is from The Ginger People brand, made by the Ginger People Group out of California.
Regular readers with astounding memories may recognize the company and brand name, since I covered another Ginger People Group product in my post on April 16th, 2017, about "gin gins," their ginger based candy. So this is admittedly a repeat of sorts. However, the gins gins were made with ginger that was cultivated in Fiji, and the sushi ginger I'll talk about in this post was grown in China. So I think that's different enough, at least technically. With all that in mind, I'll try not to repeat myself too much. The Ginger People Group founders were Abbie and Bruce Leeson, and their company is nearing its 40th anniversary, meaning it started in the mid to late 1980's. The Leesons are major fans of ginger, to the point that they think it has "healing powers" and such. Aside from China and Fiji, the business also imports ginger from Australia, Indonesia, and Peru. And aside from the gin gins and sushi ginger, other Ginger People products include tablets and lozenges, health shots (which are drinks), juices, beverages, cooking and baking products, sauces, and specialty deli items. All, clearly are ginger-based. Somewhat surprisingly, for a company that prides itself on being organic and health-based, there is a risk of allergens in Ginger People's products, as the facility they're made in also process peanuts and soy. So keep that in mind if you're allergic to these things.
The Ginger People, organic sushi ginger: The ginger strips were the typical sushi ginger size and shape--very thin pieces, roughly rectangular, and ranging between 1-3 inches (or 2.5 to 7.5 cm.) in length and about half an inch to a inch (or about 1.25 cm to 2.5 cm.) in width. The color and odor were regular too--dull yellow and a slightly spicy, respectively. And the texture was slightly chewy and wet (they were suspended in a liquid). The taste was fairly typical too--maybe a tad sweeter than most at first, but it ended with the usual gingery spice bite. So, all in all, this was a good example of the style. I would recommend this ginger, definitely. I did have my ginger plain, since I'm not a sushi chef. But I'm sure it would pair nicely with sushi as pickled ginger usually does.
I often note, and sometimes make fun of company mascots and advertising logos. But in this case, it did what it was designed to do, and stuck in my brain. I had forgotten The Ginger People brand and company name, but the mascot struck a chord when I saw it again on the official website. This character, Mr. Knobs, is basically an anthropomorphic ginger man, with a head, and separate arms and legs, all made out of ginger. Who might be a cannibal--see my post on April 16th, 2017 for more about that. Actually, when I reread that earlier post, it also mentioned real, human eating human cannibalism, too. So if that intrigues you, give it a read.
