16 BULLETIN 503, V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



per cent ash. and has a fuel value of 225 calories per pound. Its 

 water content is so high that it may be grouped with the succulent 

 roots in spite of the fact that starch constitutes the principal carbo- 

 hydrate present. As might be expected from the string}'^ character 

 of the roots, the percentage of crude fiber is rather higii. Though 

 certain varieties of horse-radish are sometimes cooked as a vegetable 

 and it is used for seasoning pickles, for making sauces,^ to serve with 

 meat, etc., its most common use in this country is as a condiment, 

 w-hen it is mixed with vinegar. It is popularly supposed that the 

 vinegar softens the crude fiber to some extent and makes it more di- 

 gestible. 



Ginger, the underground rootstock of the ginger plant {Zingiber 

 officinales^ is perhaps most frequentlj^ used dry as a spice, though 

 the fresh root or green ginger is common in autumn, being used in 

 pickle making, preserving, and in other ways. Large quantities of 

 ginger root are preserved in rich sugar sirup, " Canton ginger " in 

 its round stone jars being an old-fashioned confection which is still 

 much prized. The crystallized or candied ginger is even more com- 

 mon ; it, like preserved ginger, is frequently served as a sweetmeat. 

 It is also used in making desserts of A^arious sorts ^ and is generally 

 used like candied fruits. While the nutritive A^alue of preserved 

 or crystallized ginger depends, of course, quite largely on the 

 added sugar, the fresh root contains some nutritive material, the 

 average composition being 85.6 per cent w^ater, 1 per cent pro- 

 tein, 0.6 per cent fat, 11.4 per cent sugar, starch, etc., 1 peJr' cent 

 crude fiber, and 1.4 .per cent ash, and has a fuel value of 240 calories 

 per pound. Of the total fat or ether extract, about half consists of 

 the ethereal oil which, together with a pungent, nonvolatile con- 

 stituent called gingerol, gives to ginger its characteristic flavor. The 

 young and tender ends of the branching root, or rhizome, called 

 ginger buds, are the most delicate portion as regards both texture 

 and flavor. 



Calamus, or flagroot, is found wild in Europe, as well as in the 

 Ignited States, and has long been known for its pungent and aromatic 

 flavor-. The root is most often gathered, though the young blossom 

 portion is also eaten and has a specially mild flavor. Flagroot was 

 used for a seasoning in earlier times in England and in the United 

 States also, where it is still used to a limited extent like candied 

 citron to flavor stewed fruit and so on, though its use at the present 

 time is very largely limited to the candied flagr-oot which house- 

 keepers often make at home and which is also a commercial product. 



1 U. S. Dept. Agr.. Farmers' Bui. 391 (1910), p. 27. fReoipe for making horse-radish 

 sauce.] 



2U. S. Dept. Agr., Yearbook 1912. pp. 505-552. Raisins, Figs, and Other Dried Fruits 

 and Their Use. 



