Fresh ginger root (Zingiber officinale) is the aromatic underground rhizome of a tropical flowering plant in the ginger family. Native to Southeast Asia and used for thousands of years in culinary and traditional healing practices, fresh ginger has a warm, citrusy flavor with a distinctive peppery heat. Its thin tan skin surrounds pale yellow flesh that may be grated, minced, sliced, juiced, or steeped.

Fresh ginger is especially rich in gingerols, pungent phenolic compounds responsible for much of its characteristic flavor and biological activity. The primary gingerol in fresh ginger is 6-gingerol. When ginger is dried or exposed to prolonged heat, some gingerols are converted into shogaols, creating a different phytochemical profile in dried ginger powder. Fresh ginger also provides aromatic oils and smaller amounts of vitamins and minerals, but its greatest nutritional value comes from its diverse bioactive plant compounds.