Devil ginger is also called artichoke, the scientific name is Jerusalem artichoke, and in some places because it is like ginger and not spicy, it is called ginger is not spicy. Devil ginger can be fried and boiled, and it is also very sweet when eaten raw, but it is mainly used to pickle pickles, and the pickles have a unique flavor.
This plant is native to the Americas and has spread rapidly throughout the country since it was introduced to China from Japan in the 30s of the last century, because of its strong adaptability and reproductive ability. And because it came to the mainland from Japan, it was called oniko ginger.
So why is ghost ginger called "the world's most disobedient plant", and why can it solve the energy crisis? It all has to do with its genes and the special components of its tubers.
The flower of the ginger of the devil
The world's most disobedient plant ginger devil
The reason why ginger is called the most disobedient plant in the world is because it is "wild and difficult to tame", that is, it is difficult to domesticate it into a variety suitable for large-scale cultivation and high yield. Why is that? This is related to the fact that it contains three natural plant genes.
General plants only contain one or two plant genes, but ghost ginger contains three genes such as Asteraceae, Potato and Sunflower, so Ghost Ginger has the characteristics of three plants: Asteraceae, Potato and Sunflower. Therefore, it blooms like sunflowers, bears seeds like sunflower seeds, and bears underground tubers like sweet potatoes and potatoes.
Just because of its "three unlike" genetic characteristics, it has three "personalities", unlike plants with only a single "character" that are easy to domesticate, if planted on a large scale, yields will soon decrease, so it is called "the most disobedient plant in the world". However, agricultural scientists on the mainland have developed varieties suitable for large-scale cultivation, which means that ginger is now "obedient".
The underground tuber of the ginger knot of the devil
Ghost Ginger is one of the future energy crisis scenarios
The earth's oil, natural gas, coal and other energy sources are limited, and they will eventually run out. So many scientists in this field are looking for new energy sources that can replace traditional energy, and scientists have found that ghost ginger can not only be made into alcohol fuel, but also into biodiesel.
Devil ginger is rich in fructose, after fermentation can be made into alcohol, alcohol can not only be used as fuel, but also can be added to gasoline in a certain proportion to make compound gasoline, which can not only reduce the use of gasoline, but also improve the combustion quality of gasoline, can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
Most importantly, one of the ingredients in ginger can be made into biodiesel, and biodiesel can completely replace diesel, gasoline, and natural gas in the future.
It turns out that ginger is rich in polyfructose, that is, inulin. After the polyfructose is refined, after a series of complex chemical reactions, it is converted into a substance called fructo-oligosaccharide. After research, scientists found that after adding an E. coli to fructooligosaccharides, E. coli can convert high fructo-oligosaccharides into biodiesel.
However, although the mainland has made a new breakthrough in this technology, the cost of biodiesel produced is too high and the conversion process is also very complicated, so it is not realistic to produce biodiesel on a large scale in factories. At present, scientists are also studying solutions to reduce production costs and achieve factory production, if this solution is really found, in the future, people will use biodiesel to replace natural gas, gasoline, diesel, and the energy crisis will never appear again.
Devil ginger seeds like sunflowers
In short, although ginger is not easy to domesticate, it is in the past, it is not only a delicious food, but also can be made into fuel to solve the future energy crisis. Let's look forward to this day!