XIII 
GINGER 
403 
They are then dried in the sun for eight days, and 
again shaken in the basket, and after two days’ more 
drying are ready for sale. The shaking in the basket 
is to remove the skin and scales. In Bombay the 
rhizomes are rubbed with tiles to remove the skin, and 
then baked and dried in the sun. 
PEELING 
In Jamaica the finest ginger is peeled or uncoated. 
The peeling of the rhizomes requires some care and skill. 
It is usual for the most skilful peelers to peel between 
the toes, the easier sides of the rhizomes being done by 
children or less experienced persons. The peeling is 
done with a specially made knife, with a narrow-edged 
blade riveted to a handle. Some attempts were made 
by the Jamaica Agricultural Society to invent a peeling 
machine, but I can find no record of success in this 
direction. After peeling the hands are thrown into 
water and washed. The purer the water and the more 
that is used the whiter becomes the ginger. The hands 
are peeled during the day, and are allowed to remain in 
the water all night. The water acquires a slimy feeling, 
and if concentrated becomes mucilaginous, and acquires 
a warm and aromatic taste. Kilmer put some pieces in 
a running stream for twelve hours, and found that the 
ginger became several shades lighter, but at the same 
time less pungent. Some planters use lime-juice in the 
water in which the ginger is washed ; this makes it 
whiter, as the lime-juice dissolves out the colouring 
matter, but at the same time the ginger so treated is 
apt to grow mouldy. Kilmer then tried utilising citric 
acid, vinegar, and acetic acid ; all worked well, but citric 
acid gave the best results. However, these processes 
were found both expensive and troublesome. 
CURING 
After washing the ginger is dried in the sun. Some 
planters made use of a barbecue, such as is used in 
