I think we use up two kilos of ginger a week over here. May doesn’t make a problem of unpeeled pieces, but I do. The pieces of ginger go in a glass pour boiling water over them and you have tea. You can add a twig of mint and if you’re serving it to a man, bring a pot of honey to the table.

Ginger is hot&happening and not only in Asian cuisine. It’s a happening in our department and well, everywhere really. In every smoothie, juice or lemonade there are pieces of ginger or ginger syrup. They even advise a daily teaspoon of grated ginger at breakfast time. Now there’s ginger beer, ginger jam and ginger ice cream.

Ginger. Why is it so good for us? And my name wouldn’t be Jet if I didn’t add a recipe. Here comes.

Ginger is a spice that comes from the root of the ginger plant. Chinese medicine used ginger to maintain a healthy digestion and to treat digestive problems. That’s precisely why I’m a fan. If you’re a little nauseous a hot ginger tea will resolve that quickly. Other benefits are that it’s anti- inflammatory, has loads of vitamin C en helps improve the memory. Quite a catch.

Enough about how good it is for you, into to kitchen. I’ll give you a recipe for making ginger syrup. It’s lovely as a summer drink, but you can add some to your smoothie, yoghurt or even your noodle dish. Be creative.

This what you need and how to make  (for about 1 liter):

250 grams of fresh ginger

6 lemons

and (stay calm) 750 ml of agave syrup

Squeeze the juice out of the lemons and set aside. Peel the ginger and cut into small pieces. Put the ginger in a pan with 500 ml of water. Bring to a boil and leave it to simmer near boiling point for 15 minutes. Sift the ginger juice into a new pan. Add the agave syrup and bring to a boil while stirring. Then add the lemon juice and bring to a boil again. Then stir occasionally leave it to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. When chilled pour it into a bottle. Make sure the bottle has a top and to keep it in the fridge. Then the syrup will keep for a month.

This is delicious with water, ice cubes and mint. The die-hards can add a shot of vodka.