Tag Archives: recipes
Candied Ginger Recipe
Fresh ginger isn’t something most people keep in their kitchens. Why? I have no idea. Ginger is so incredibly good for you, with a number of health benefits including use as a digestive aid and to promote circulation. Candied ginger isn’t something I make very often but when I do it seems to fly out of the kitchen. It’s a bit of a process but it’s very easy to make, so here it is.
You’ll need the following ingredients:
- Fresh ginger root (try to get it from a produce stand instead of a regular grocery store for better bang for your buck)
- Sugar
- Water
Start by peeling the ginger root and cutting it into bite sized pieces. Measure the amount of ginger root you have cut and put it into a pot. Measure the same amount of sugar and water as you had ginger and put that into the pot as well. (So, for example, if you had 1 cup of cut ginger root you’ll need 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water).
Bring the mixture to a boil and then immediately bring it down to a simmer. Allow the mixture to simmer until about 1/5 or 1/6 of the liquid in the pot has disappeared. Turn the mixture to an even lower simmer, put a lid on the pot, and allow it to cook for 1 minute longer. Remove from heat but DO NOT remove the lid.
When the pot cools, put it in the refrigerator.
The next day you’ll take out the pot, remove the lid, and bring it to a boil again. Immediately bring it to a simmer, let it roll for just a few minutes, turn the simmer down very low, replace the lid, simmer for 1 minute, and remove the pot from the heat.
Repeat this process every day.
On the 7th day, heat the pot just a little so that the syrup (it’ll be syrup by then) isn’t so thick. This makes it easier to drain the ginger out of the syrup.
Line a baking pan with wax paper. Spread some sugar generously across the wax paper. Strain the ginger out of the syrup and place it on the sugar on the pan. Sprinkle more sugar over top of the ginger on the pan.
Allow the ginger to sit out until it dries completely. I recommend moving the ginger around once or twice so that it can turn over and, if you need to , move the ginger to a new, dry, piece of wax paper so that it can get away from some of the moisture left on the pan from draining.
When it’s completely dry, package it in an airtight container. Eat & enjoy!
Oh – and here’s the best part. Don’t throw away the syrup that was in the pot. Pour it into a container or two and place it in the fridge or freezer. It makes a great, strong, ginger-infused sweetener for tea, especially if you aren’t feeling well!
