KENCUR

Kencur or commonly known in the scientific world as Kaempferia galanga L. In Indonesia is known in various regional names such as ceuku (Aceh), tekur (Gayo), kaciwer (Karo), cakue (Minangkabau), Cekur (Lampung), kencur (Java), cikur (Sunda), Kencor (Madura), brick (Manado), watan (Minahsa), (Gorontalo), cakuru (Makassar), Ceku (Bugis), niche (Bali), cekur (Sasak), sokus (Roti), Sukung (Timor), suha (Seram), assuli (Ambon), Onegai (Buru), Bataka (Ternate, Tidore), ukap (Irian).

This plant is expected to come from Tropical Asia region. Most people suspect that the origin kencur is Indo-Malaysian region. But other literature sources to make sure that kencur plant origin is from India and subsequently cultivated by the countries in various parts of southeast Asia, southern China, to Australia.

In Indonesia alone, kencur first present in the Moluccas, because at that moment spices in Indonesia is based in Maluku. Kencur cropping center is still concentrated in Java, especially Central Java and East Java. One of the central areas of greatest kencur today is Boyolali (Central Java), which in 1992 contained kencur planting area covering 703 hectares with a production of 1,301 tons of wet logs.

Kencur (Kaempferia galanga L.) is widely used as raw material for traditional medicine (herbal medicine), fitofarmaka, cosmetics, food and beverage flavoring, spices, sauces and mixed materials, cigarette in the cigarette industry. Empirically kencur used as an appetite enhancer, a bacterial infection, cough, dysentery, tonic, expectorant, colds, stomach aches. Essential oil in the rhizome kencur sinnamat containing ethyl and methyl p-methoxycinnamate are widely used in the cosmetics industry and is used as an asthma medication and anti-fungal. The many benefits of kencur enable the development carried out intensive cultivation adjusted to the desired end product. Production, quality and content of active ingredients in the rhizome kencur determined by the varieties used, the way the growth of aquaculture and the environment.

Kencur main product is the rhizome which can be used as a medicinal plant material (botanicals) Traditionally, industrial raw material for beverages and spices. Priangan (West Java) kencur leaves are commonly used as raw salad. 

Kencur plants use as a food ingredient, among others:

-    Young leaves (shoots) are used for raw vegetables or make urap.

-    Rhizome kencur used for flavoring food (spices), for example in the manufacture pecel, ointment, crackers, gado-gado and others.

-    Rhizome kencur mixture used to give flavor to the rice.

-    Rhizome kencur used as ingredient in the confectionery industry.

Usage As Spices

Kencur gives a fresh aroma and distinctive in sauce, soybean sauce, ointment, pecel, lodeh and bobor vegetable.

Usage: Peel kencur, puree together with other spices. Kencur following young fresh leaves are eaten as a salad. As a substitute for fresh can be used kencur powder is packaged in a bottle.

GINGER

Scientific name Zingiber officinale, is the name given by William Roxburgh from the Greek word zingiberi, from Sanskrit, singaberi. Local name: Halia (Aceh), Bahing (Batak Karo), Jae (Java), Ginger (Sunda), Jhai (Madura), Jae, Jahya (Bali), Sipodeh (Minang), Jahi (Lampung), Melito (Gorontalo), Lia (Flores), Goraka (Ternate), Late (East), PESE (Bugis), Lali (Papua). Foreign names: Ginger (UK), Khan Jiang, Chilang (China), Gingembre (France), Gengibre (Spain), Ingefaera (Sweden), Imbir (Russia), Sanyabil (Arabic), Zensero (Italy). Familia or parts of plants: Zingiberaceae.

Ginger is thought to have originated from India. But some are believed ginger comes from the China. From India, ginger was taken as the spice trade to Southeast Asia, China, Japan and the Middle East.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a wild plant in a fields who had higher levels of soil rather wet (humid) and plenty of sunshine gain, such as Southeast Asia, Brazil and Africa. Currently Ecuador and Brazil became the world's largest supplier of ginger. Ginger including chronic herbaceous plant species. The characteristics of this plant among other things has erect stems, fibrous roots and bulbous with horizontal rhizomes. Medium large-small ginger rhizome plants is largely determined by its variety. Ginger rhizome rather thick-skinned tubers fibrous wrap meat and have a brown color with a distinctive aroma. Stem ginger is a pseudo-stem with a height of 30 to 100 cm. Elliptic leaf shape and not so wide. Pinnate leaves with a length of 15 to 23 mm and a width of 8 to 15 mm. The flowers are oval and have 2 sex and have 1 stamens and 3 pistils of flowers. Ginger flower has a length of 35 to 50 mm and a width of 15 to 18 mm. Scaly peduncle much as 5 to 7 pieces. Yellowish green flowers. Lips flowers and anthers purple. Ginger flowers appear in axillary in a sitting position. Ginger is a plant of tropical and subtropical regions suited to be planted in the lowlands to the highlands (1500 meters above sea level).

Substances contained in ginger (Zingiber officinale) primarily rhizomes, between Iain: essential oils, resins, mineral, sineol, fellandren, camphor, borneol, zingiberin, zingiberol, gingerol. zingeron, lipidas, aminos acid, niacin, Vitamin A and protein.

Usage As Spices

Old fresh ginger is usually used for stir-fry dishes. Fry dishes, especially seafood, and wedang, because pungent thus neutralizing the rancid aroma. Ginger powder is widely used to add flavor to cakes and biscuits, syrup and powdered spice mix. Candied ginger is used to mix the cake, and ice cream topping because it tastes sweeter. Pickled ginger is used as a complement to grilled or baked dish because it tastes fresher and less spicy.

As fresh herbs, ginger select the elderly. Peel the ginger and slice thin, coarse or finely chopped, or crushed. To get a better aroma, roasted ginger to the skin to peel and scrape the skin. As for obtaining water ginger, grated ginger that has been peeled and then squeeze the water. In a saute dish, ginger slices or chopped ginger is usually sauteed along with other fresh spices until fragrant. If used in large amounts, usually selected young ginger that it's not too spicy. As a complement to the cake, drinks or pudding used candied ginger. For the candied ginger, before it combined with other materials, cut or chopped so that the smell out.

In Java there is famous beverage called ginger. This drink is used to warm the body as a strong spicy flavor of ginger. To make it, burn a few slices of ginger, scrape the skin, crushed and boiled together with water to taste, add the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Boil until the water is reduced and filtered quarter. If you want more spicy you can add some lemongrass stalks are crushed grains and 2-3 cloves.

Tips

So that long-lasting fresh ginger, select the old bulbs, wash and then wipe it dry. Enter in a plastic bag or wrap it with a piece of paper and store in the refrigerator. Fresh ginger can be can be retained for up to 6 weeks.

GARLIC

Garlic has the Latin name Allium sativum Linn. Word all means odor and sativum means cultivated. Local name: garlic (Malay), lasun (Aceh), dasun (Minangkabau), lasuna (Batak), handak onions, bacong landak (Lampung), onions (Java), bodas onions (Sunda), babang pole (Madura), kasuna (Bali), kasihong onions (Dayak), lasuna kebo (Makassar), lasuna pute (Bugis), pia mapoti (Gorontalo) bawa bodudo (Ternate), incuna (Nusa Tenggara), kalfeo foleu (East).

These plants come from mainland Asia and is grown in Indonesia, is a bulbous herb plant cloves layered or tiered. Garlic grows cluster and stand up to a height of 30-75 cm. Having a pseudo-stem is formed from the stem-leaf midrib. Leaves resemble the shape of a ribbon, flattened and elongated. Each bulb consists of a number of child onion (cloves) and every clove wrapped in a thin white skin. Root consists of fibers of small amounts to many. There are varieties of garlic that produce flowers, but some are not. Small flowers, the color pink.

Every 100 grams of garlic bulbs containing 4.5 grams of protein, 0.20 grams of fat, 23.10 grams of carbohydrate, 0.22 mg vitamin B1, 15 mg of vitamin C, 95 calories of calories, 134 mg of phosphorus, 42 mg calcium, 1 mg of iron, and 71 grams of water. Garlic also contains the active substance awcin, awn, enzymes alinase, germanium, sativine, sinistrine, selenium, scordini, nicotonic acid.

The mineral content contained in garlic, such as selenium and several enzymes such as allinase, peroxidase, myrosinase, and others. Of the various contents contained in garlic, which is the highest sulfur content of other minerals. The sulfur compounds of garlic gives a lot of drug efficacy is also responsible for the pungent smell produced this spice. The smell of garlic is formed by the action of the allinase enzyme on alliin sulfur compounds. This enzyme is inactivated by heat, so when you cook garlic, aroma produced not as strong as the smell of raw garlic.

Usage As Spices

Garlic including the type of seasoning that comes from the tubers. Are the main ingredients in the kitchen Asia. Garlic gives savory flavor in dishes with a strong aroma. For stir-fry dishes, crushed, finely chopped or coarsely chopped. For the marinade, use grated garlic or garlic powder. For topping the dish fry, use slices of fried garlic.