Gingerol
The compounds behind ginger's heat, which change into milder or sharper forms when ginger is cooked or dried.
Also: ginger pungent compound, shogaol, zingerone
Gingerols are the main pungent compounds of fresh ginger, giving a clean, lively heat. When ginger is dried, gingerols dehydrate into shogaols, which are more pungent and give dried ginger its sharper, warmer taste. When ginger is cooked, gingerols turn to zingerone, which is milder and sweeter, hence the mellow flavour of cooked ginger. This explains why fresh, dried and cooked ginger taste different, and why gingerbread and ginger tea differ. Traditions across Asia describe ginger as warming, in Ayurveda, Chinese and Unani systems. These are cultural ideas about food, not medical advice.