3. Property of Panax ginseng

Panax ginseng can be categorized mainly into two types depending on how it is processed.

1) Red ginseng

Steam the picked ginseng using a bamboo steamer without peeling the skin off and dry it well. Panax ginseng turns red when it is steamed.

Usually, six-year-old ginseng (that is been cultivated for six years) produced in Korea is used to process.

By steaming it without peeling the skin off and then drying it, the content of saponin (active ingredient) increases.\

 

2) White ginseng

Peel the skin of picked ginseng or dry it without peeling off the skin.

Usually, four-year-old ginseng is being processed.

It is used for making revitalizing beverage.

It can be further categorized into three types, straight ginseng, half-curved ginseng and curved ginseng, depending on its shape.

 

Panax ginseng is usually used for two uses:

1) Medical use as Chinese herb

Roots are used as medicine.

Basically, Panax ginseng is being boiled and the components that is being exudated are taken.

It is used for recoveries from exhaustion, loss in appetite, cold-sensitive constitution, dropsy, loss of sleep, palpitation and dizziness, asthma, and remedy for hypotension.

When using it as medicine, add 200 ml of water for 10g of Panax ginseng and decoct it until the water gets half the volume. Divide it into three portions to take it three times a day.

 

2) Ingredient use in dishes

It is used in foods such as samgyetang (Korean dish), ginseng tea and ginseng candy.

It can be eaten fresh without making any process, and can also be used as ingredients for honey pickles, fries, simmered dishes, cooked dishes, steamed dishes, soup and other dishes.

For fries, simmered dishes and cooked dishes, not only fresh ginseng but used ginseng such as leftovers after decocting the dried ginseng and the ginseng being soaked in alcohol can be reused.

 

Reference

Health foods, soup recipe http://recipe.rakuten.co.jp/recipe/1840008816/

“Encyclopedia of health food materials –Information of food and medicine for health-” written by Hiroshi Tatsumi, Genso-sha

Information on Panax ginseng http://www.sas.janis.or.jp/~kyowa8/

Takeda Yakuho Web in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited

http://takeda-kenko.jp/yakuhou/

Database for material information of health foods

Institute for Medical-Care Education https://www.ime.or.jp/daitai/daitai16.html