Good whole ginseng root is thick, long, and intact. Commercially grown ginseng root is often very soft and, when you break it, spongy. This is inferior. The best ginseng root is at least five or six years old. To determine the age, count the scars, each one represents a year.
Whole root is more balanced and beneficial as a tonic than concentrated extracts or supplements.
In China, Korea, and other Asian countries, there is a tradition of cooking with ginseng, of integrating it into the diet. It is often cooked with chicken to make a strengthening soup or stew. Once might make the soup every month or two or at the beginning of each season, supplemented by other appropriate culinary-medical herbs, to prepare the body and mind for the changing season. Traditionally, different forms of ginseng have different energies. American ginseng is purported to have a cooler, milder, more balanced yin-yang energy.