Claire raised her hand and said, "Professor, Ginger root is used extensively as a spice in many if not most cuisines of the world. Though called a root, it is actually the rhizome of the monocotyldonus perinnial plant Zingiber officinale. The active constituent of fresh ginger is gingerol, a relative of capsicin. When ginger is dried, the gingerol molecules are converted into the much more pungent shogaols. Cooking ginger transforms gingerol into zingeron, which is less pungent and has a spicy-sweet aroma."