Fresh ginger looks so strange. What should you check for when buying

A.� Try and pick a piece with translucent skin. Reject any that look shrunken or wrinkled, with dried-up tufts of fibre at the break. The older the tuber, the darker and more wizened the skin, the hotter the taste and the more fibrous the flesh. Oriental cooks distinguish between mature ginger and 'stem' ginger, the tender young rhizomes that form close to the stem. The latter is best for preserving, but both can be used for most culinary purposes.

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Q.� What's the best way to use ginger

A.� Ginger roots are the tubers of Zingiber officinale, a native of south-east Asia, and have been harvested for their medicinal as well as culinary uses for centuries. Westerners first discovered ginger in the Middle Ages as a dried root that had to be bruised, grated and sieved to remove the fibre. The fresh root naturally goes well with fish, pork and poultry. Chinese cooks use chopped ginger and salt to restore freshness to filleted fish, or you can spice up mayonnaise by squeezing some ginger juice from a garlic press.

How you prepare ginger matters: for a stir-fry or to flavour vinegar as a dipping suace, scrape and matchstick; for a slow-simmered stew, scrape and chunk, for all other purposes, crush with the flat blade of a knife and chop as finely as you can.

Older roots can be pickled and preserved. Break the knob into pieces, scrape and add to a jar with enough dry sherry to cover. Keep it in the fridge, it lasts for ages, and the ginger sauce can be used to deglaze a roasting tin or added to a stir-fry.

Conserved ginger, the syrupy preserve, is perfect for adding to chocolate desserts and hot chocolate sauce.

To crystallise for use in baking, remove the pieces from the syrup, slice and set to dry�very slowly in an oven.

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Q.� What health benefits does ginger have

A.� In medieval Europe, alchemists used ginger as a palliative for the Black Death. Modern homeopathists recommend it for good digestion, as a cure for the common cold, to alleviate morning sickness - ginger biscuits are a common cure - and to soothe a hangover. The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge took ginger infused with lemon; some prefer it with cinnamon and carawary, while many people stew chunks of fresh ginger in milk with green tea and honey.

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Q.� How do you make perfect gingerbread men

A. You will need:

100g (4oz) flour

50g (2oz) soft brown sugar

5ml (1 tsp) ground ginger

50g (2oz) butter

15ml (1 tbsp) fresh milk

30ml (2 tbsp) black treacle

currants to decorate

Method: place flour, sugar and ginger in a bowl and mix together. Make a well in the centre of dry ingredients. Put butter, milk and treacle into a small saucepan and heat gently until butter has melted. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes. Pour butter mixture into dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon to a soft ball. Roll out on a floured work surface and cut out gingerbread men with a biscuit cutter. Decorate with currants for eyes, nose and buttons. Bake at 180C (350F) for 10-15 minutes.

leave to cook before transfering to a wire cooling rack and leave until cold.

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By Katharine MacColl