Red Ginseng

[Guest guest]

Regarding how red ginseng is made red.

 

I talked to my herb guy with whom I wrote what follows, he says that

hong shen (red ginseng) is made red during the steaming process and that

the steaming process is done with water only. He did however, suggest

the possibility that some of the red color comes from the second stage

of the process which includes sugar curing. The sugar used apparently is brown.

 

And now the excerpt from the book we almost wrote once. : )

 

) Ren Shen ( " Garden Ginseng " , meaning cultivated Ginseng)

a. Red Ginseng, its color is brown and red. It's slightly transparent.

After cleaning it is steamed two to three hours, then oven dried or sun

dried. This is the most common variety of Yuan Shen. The body's length

runs form 5 to 20 cm. It's diameter is 0.7 to 2.0 cm. Its smell is

very pleasant, with a slight bitter taste.

b. Bian Tao Shen, (Edge Long Shen) Similar to Red Ginseng in color

and quality. It is longer that Red Ginseng with a greater diameter.

It's branch, too is longer and wider. This suggests are better quality

medicine than Red Ginseng.

c. Tang Shen (Sugar Shen) First the Yuan Shen is placed into boiling

water for 3 to 7 minutes, then placed into cold water right away to soak

for about 10 minutes, then sun dried. Burn Liu Huang beneath the

Ginseng to smoke the ginseng. The essence of the Liu Huang (sulphur)

pass into the Ginseng via the smoke. This may be for preservative for

the ginseng to keep it free of worms. They use a special needle to

puncture tiny holes in the root. Then they place the Ginseng into a

highly concentrated suger water for more than 24 hours. Then the

Ginseng is placed under direct sunlight to dry it out. Then beat the

Ginseng with a wet towel to soften, the repeat the process from the

punching of the holes. Once it has been in the sugar water again for 24

hours it is rinsed off and sun, or oven dried. The color becomes a

lighter yellow/white. The length is from 3.5 to 12 cm. The diameter is

from 0.6 to 2.0 cm. The smell is pleasant. The taste is sweet and

slightly bitter.

d. Bai Ren Shen (White Man Shen) Quality and shape is a kind of sugar

shen. Most of the time it has a good shape (straight) that is very

white. It is longer than Red Ginseng. The Ginseng's beard (the long

hairy roots at the end of the branches) is short, but very brittle.

e. Shang Shai Shen (Raw Sundried Shen) Of course, this kind of

Ginseng, is washed until clean and then partially dried by placing

beneath a sun for one day. (one full day of sunshine. Very clear,

brilliant sunshine) The next day, it is smoked with Liu Huang, possible

as a preservative. Then complete the sundrying process until completely

dried. The color looks like a yellow-brown, mostly yellow, a little

brown. It will be crisp and lighter now. The smell is pleasant. The

taste is bitter.

f. Bai Gan Shen (White Dry Shen) Scratched off superficial skin of

root. The color becomes a lighter yellow or white. That's why we call

it White, because it has been made lighter by scraping off the

superficial skin. Quality and shape are similar to Shang Shai Shen.

g. Qia Pi Shen (Strangled Skin Shen). The method of preparation is

similar to Tang Shen. Put ginseng into boiling water for 3 min, then

remove until cold, then replace into the boiling water. Repeat until

the Ren Shen has been bathed three times. At this point, the Ren Shen

will be 30% done. Then, put the ren shen into boiling water for 20

minutes. Then pull out, let cool and punch tiny holes into the root as

is Tang Shen, then place the Ren Shen into slightly sweetened sugar

water, nowhere near is thick as for Tang Shen. Then, remove and over

dry. This will cause the skin to seperate from the meat. Then use a

bamboo knife to make small indentations into the root, very superficial.

The smell if pleasant. The taste is slightly sweet and slightly bitter

as typical ginseng.

h. Da Li Shen (Great Force Shen) Take fresh raw ginseng for several

seconds and remove. The dry very well beneath the sun. (As many days

as necessary until fully dry.) This is the most natural form of

Ginseng. This kind of ginseng is not often exported because it has a

short shelf life. It is the strongest and least prepared. The body

length is from 5 to 15 cm.

It has a slightly yellow color and is slightly transparent. The beard

and branches are cut off to leave only the best part of the ginseng,

however the head is left on for consumers to better assess the quality

of the herb. The phsycial properties of this root is hard and crisp.

Smell is pleasant, taste is bitter.

 

2) Ye Shan Shen ( " Wild Mountain Grown Ginseng " )

 

a. The shape looks like garden ginseng. The body of the root is wider

and shorter. Usually there are two major branches in the body. Which

allows the root to look like a body with two legs. In the head you'll

find numerous concentric wrinkles. The legs tend to be curved, not

straight like garden Ginseng. Root beard (small roots) is much longer

than Garden ginseng. One or two times the length of the " legs " of the

root. The beardy roots also have pearly spots on them. This is the

biggest difference between wild and cultivated Ginseng, them pearly

whites. Wild Ginseng's color of the whole body is a light yellow. The

skin of the root is very soft. It's natural smell (before cooking) is

stronger that garden Ginseng. It is sweet, with a light bitter quality also.

The preparation procedures are different. There are three methods of

prepration. See above for details.

1. Sheng Shai Shen

2. Tang Shen

3. Qia Pi Shen

 

Wild Ginseng in the best quialty is very large and big. Juicy, full of

liquid. Wrinkles that are small and compact are better than those roots

with wide and thick wrinkles. Longer head better than a short one. The

more pearls on the beard roots the better.

 

3) Korean Ginseng:

Korean Ginseng is, of course grows in Korea. It too, comes in both

Wild and Garden varieties. The more Northern, the better, though it is

grown in the South as well. Bei Zhi Shen ( " Fork in the road Straight

Root " ). Probably because of the shape of the herb is a little bigger

and the legs resemble a " Y " in the road. These herbs are bigger and

have a stronger tonification function.

Production: There is Korean Red Ginseng and Korean White Ginseng. Red

is better stronger than white.

Preparation is the same as Chinese Ginseng.

 

4) Siberian Ginseng:

Siberian Ginseng's function is very similar to Chinese and Korean

Ginseng. It usually has a warmer temperature than Chinese or Korean

Ginseng. Information on Ginseng distinct to Siberia is somewhat lacking

because up until very recently, Ginseng wasn't really divided up by the

location of its production. This is only a modern differentiation.

 

--

Al Stone L.Ac.

<AlStone

http://www.BeyondWellBeing.com

 

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

 

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