PHILIPPINE NATIVE GINGER

We contend that Villa Fuscagna Farms is at present, the only producer of Philippine Native Ginger in powdered and dried thin sliced (flakes) form.

This type of ginger has a stronger flavor and is fresher than other competing ginger powder and flakes. The consumer is able to identify the exact farm location, the Philippine families that produce it and the date it was harvested. We convert flakes to powder at a maximum of two weeks before its shipped to the customer. It is grown using natural organic fertilizer which we produce on the farm and is sun dried on site in our drying tunnel.

If freshness (and therefore storage life), strength of taste (you need less to achieve the same cooking result) and certainty of source is important to you, then this IS the ginger product for you. Next time you visit your favorite supermarket, try to find any other ginger powder where the label tells you which country its from and when the ginger was harvested.

Both the powder and flake form are perfect for cooking as well as making ginger tea. According to Lance (our in house expert) , 8 grams of flakes or powder will produce the heat level of 100 grams of fresh supermarket ginger and deliver more flavor.

No need to peel, cut up and crush the ginger. No need to remove the fresh pieces after the meal is cooked as the powder is infused into the dish and the flakes can be eaten. Your not paying for any waste.

When making tea, you know your using 100% pure ginger. Nothing is added to the powder to color it or dilute it. We do not add sugar so that you can blend your tea exactly as you like it. Add to boiled water, let it steep for 30 minutes and its fully infused. Broadly ,8 grams will produce 4 cups (one liter) of ginger tea but the number of cups depends upon your personal "strength" preference.

PHILIPPINE NATIVE GINGER:

Ginger (Zingiber), known locally as Luya, is not actually native to the Philippines. The variety that we grow is termed "native" or "imugan" and it is believed to originate from the Indian subcontinent, imported by spice traders between 1300 and 1500. The heat and pungency level of this variety is higher than later variety introductions (primarily post 1936-Hawaiian,Jamacian and Taiwan) which produce higher yields with less taste. Native fresh rhizome weight of 500 to 800 grams per plant is typical in comparison with say Taiwan which produces 1.5 to 2.2 kilos per plant. Not surprisingly, local farmers have adopted the higher yielding varieties but at the cost of an inferior taste and heat level.

RETAINING THE CHEMISTRY

The fragrance and flavor results from volatile oils weighing approx. 2-3% of fresh ginger, and in turn 20% of dry ginger. These are primarily zingerone, shogaols and gingerols. When the ginger is dug out of the ground,these volatile oils begin to dissipate, as you would expect. In our view the tricks to retain the maximum amount of volatile oils are to;dry the ginger as fast as possible from the time it is dug out of the soil, sun dry it naturally in sliced form at a temperature of 35 C to 40C, seal it in thick plastic bags for storage, grind it into powder immediately prior to shipment and consume within 12 months of original harvest. But perhaps we are too fussy as most suppliers set a shelf life of two years from the powder grinding date. Using our specialized sun tunnel design, the dry ginger slices are safely sealed in plastic bags within 4 days from being dug out of the soil.

Lance has attested to the result!