Ginger root as a source of a-Amylase enzyme ???

[Husker]

From the parent site under Preparing_Wash / Grains / Mashing, I found this about ginger root (and even mentions bannana peels!!!). Has anyone in the forums tried doing this?

Raoul suggests that root ginger is a source of amalayse, decreasing fermentation times down from 15 to 3-4 days ...

Try 1/8 tsp of fresh ginger root and 1/2 tablet of Beano with every gallon of whole corn and 8-10 pounds of sugar you use. I then dilute to 1.090sg (about 4 1/2 USGallons) and chuck in 1 oz of Fleischmanns ActiveDry, RapidRise or breadmachine yeast. After 3-4 days it is at 0.992sg and it has stayed above 95 degF. The ginger is a really cheap source of alpha-amylase and the Beano seems to act as a catalyst. No need to boil the wash either.

A reliable source of a-amylase enzymes is ginger and I believe the inside white part of a banana skin. Also it is present in saliva but I don't like the idea of spitting into my wash. It replaces the function of 6-row barley or malting the corn. To prepare the ginger, add 1 cup of cold water (40deg F) and the ginger root into a blender and get it as fine as possible.

You can also use the mash 2-3 times or so I have been told. Some old timers in the woods here report up to 5-6 times. This suggests that they do not have an efficient starch conversion but they didn't use ginger either.

Use a paint strainer (or a stocking leg) as a bag to hold your grain. This solves the straining issue.