Process of making Red ginseng (紅蔘)
South Korean’s most favorite health food is red-ginseng (紅 蔘), which takes about 36% of the total health food sales.
Red ginseng is carefully selected 6 year old high quality ginseng cultivated in a field with an optimum conditions and environment and it takes reddish-brown color after steaming for long without peeling off the strip. Fresh ginsengs collected from the field are processed to be red-ginsengs through washing, steaming and drying after classified into grades 1-5 depending on the size and shape.
Ginseng usually grows equally by four years but the quality varies widely after 4 years depending on the soils, environment and the techniques of the grower. If the environment or cultivation techniques fails to meet the standard, ginseng start to be rotten. In addition, since 6 years, most of ginsengs become stiff like wood.
Several new bioactive ingredients good for our health are generated in the manufacturing process of red ginseng. These bioactive ingredients are the substances unique in red-ginseng and do not exist in fresh ginseng or white ginseng. In addition, red-ginseng can be stored longer than other ginsengs.
The characteristics of red-ginseng
① Toxins of fresh ginsengs are removed in the process of steaming with vapor and new bioactive ingredients beneficial to the health are produced,
② It has many different kinds of saponins more than any other ginsengs,
③ It helps strengthening the immune system with increased amount of the components effective for health,
④ It helps improvement in physical constitution,
⑤ It helps vigorous activity of normal cells,
⑥ It is good for all ages of men and women as it activate digestive absorption.
⑦ The ingredients survive long term storage (more than 10 years).
Difference between Koran ginseng and Chinese ginseng
Outlook: Korean ginseng has a short and thick head while Chinese ginseng has a long head. Striking the head by finger, Korean ginseng head is still stuck to the body while Chinese ginseng head fall away. Trunk: Korean ginseng has shiny bright color while Chinese ginseng has gloomy color and is not shiny. In addition, Korean ginseng shows clear tree rings when cutting the trunk.
Leg: Korean ginseng has 2-3 legs while Chinese ginseng has only 1-2 legs or has no leg at all. Smells: Korean ginseng has savory flavor while Chinese ginseng has strong smell of a grass or soils and often it smells as if it is rotten.
Red Ginseng extract refers to a soluble red ginseng concentration filtered out of steamed and dried fresh ginseng using catalyst which is a mixture of water and alcohol. Red Ginseng extract powder refers to the powered extract and red-ginseng powder refers to the powered red-ginseng (100%).