Ground ginger is a common spice and health food widely used for culinary and medicinal purposes. Producing high quality ground ginger requires fine craftsmanship and strict control. So how is ground ginger produced?
Step 1: Cleaning and Peeling
The production of ground ginger begins with cleaning and peeling. Fresh ginger is washed to remove surface soil and impurities. To ensure the purity and taste of the ground ginger, the ginger is usually peeled using mechanical equipment to prepare it for the subsequent processing steps.
Step 2: Slicing
After cleaning and peeling the ginger, it needs to be sliced. The thickness of the slices is usually controlled at 2-3 millimeters to ensure uniform evaporation of water during the subsequent drying process. The slicing process can be done using an automated slicer, which not only improves efficiency, but also ensures that the thickness of each slice of ginger is consistent, which in turn affects the quality of the final ground ginger.
Step 3: Drying
After slicing, ginger needs to be dried. The purpose of drying is to remove moisture from the ginger to prevent it from mold and mildew during storage. Modern drying equipment can precisely control the temperature and humidity, usually the drying temperature is between 50-60 degrees Celsius, and the time depends on the thickness and moisture content of the ginger slices, usually around 6-8 hours. After drying, the ginger slices should be dry, crisp and hard with no visible moisture.
Step 4: Grinding
The dried ginger slices are pulverized in a pulverizer to make a fine ground ginger. The pulverizing process involves the use of high-speed rotating blades or grinding discs to thoroughly grind the ginger slices into powder. During the crushing process, the temperature of the equipment should be controlled to avoid the loss of flavor and active ingredients due to frictional heat.
Step 5: Screening
The crushed ground ginger needs to be screened to ensure fineness and uniformity of the powder. Screening is usually done using multiple layers of screens to filter out the different particle sizes of ground ginger layer by layer. Fine ground ginger passes through the finest screen, while larger particles are returned for re-crushing to ensure uniformity and quality of the final product.
Step 6: Packaging
Screened ground ginger needs to be packaged in time to prevent it from moisture deterioration. Packaging materials are usually moisture-proof and oxidation-proof food-grade materials, such as aluminum foil bags or vacuum packaging bags. The packaging process needs to be carried out in a sterile environment to ensure the hygiene and safety of ground ginger. The packaged ground ginger needs to be labeled with the production date and shelf life for easy use and preservation by consumers.
Each step of ground ginger production requires fine operation and strict control to ensure the quality and safety of ground ginger. Through modernized ground ginger production equipment and scientific management methods, the ground ginger produced not only retains the natural flavor and nutrients of ginger, but also has good storage and use characteristics to meet the market demand.