Ginseng Knowledge | Heil Ginseng
A simple ginseng chicken soup with real quantities, plus how to cook with dried slices, whole ginseng root and fresh root.
Start with the ginseng you have in the kitchen. A tea bag needs a cup and hot water. Slices work in a mug or a small saucepan. Whole roots take a little more preparation.
American ginseng is a plant grown for its root. If you’ve seen a pale, branching root in a gift bag or slices steeping in a teapot, you may already have met it. Its botanical name is Panax quinquefolius .
When two bags of ginseng look similar, start with the label. Where was it grown? How old is the crop? What will you actually receive? Those answers tell you more than a polished photo alone.
American ginseng and Korean ginseng are related plants with different species names. American ginseng is Panax quinquefolius ; Korean, or Asian, ginseng is Panax ginseng . That distinction is the place to start when the bags on a shelf all say “ginseng.”