Photo: SingChan/Flickr

Is ginger offensive to you?

That’s the question that Jess is asking at A Fete for Food, and I have to admit it took me by surprise. There are people who don’t like ginger? I wondered in horror, knuckles white, my worldview completely shaken. Ginger, to me, is one of those rare  ingredients like garlic or ripe tomatoes that seems to achieve a sort of Platonic perfection. It’s equally at home in an Asian stir-fry or a bar of chocolate, in kimchi and in soda. In some parts of the world, it’s used to flavor coffee and milk; in other parts, it’s eaten candied to sooth colds and upset stomachs. Dried and powdered, it’s wonderful on meat, on fish and on lentils. And I haven’t even mentioned gingerbread!

Luckily, Jess also loves ginger’s sweet-tart tang – and for those who disagree? “More for me,” she writes. She made a pitcher of ginger lime iced tea out of some tight and juicy discount limes, some minced ginger and just a tiny bit of honey. The resulting brew looks like lemonade and tastes, I imagine, like a sweet little vacation. She says it would be great after a workout; I’d make it with sparkling water, dreaming of pink sands and hot nights.