Crystallized Ginger

[Mottmott]

I have a considerable store of candied ginger that's dried out a bit. Does anyone have a good idea how to undry it? to soften it up a bit? I've considered soaking it much as one might plump raisins. Or, perhaps, giving it another turn of "candying" on the stove.

Another use for dried ginger is to add it to just about any spice loaf that calls for ginger.

And, I'm not sure it will qualify as the recipe specifies stem ginger in syrup, but Pierre Herme has a terrific chocolate loaf with stem ginger and apricots. It's in his Chocolate Desserts.

[SuzySushi]

I have a considerable store of candied ginger that's dried out a bit.  Does anyone have a good idea how to undry it? to soften it up a bit? I've considered soaking it much as one might plump raisins. Or, perhaps, giving it another turn of "candying" on the stove.

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That's never happened to me (the candied ginger doesn't last that long!), but just a thought: would tossing in a couple of fresh apple slices help, like one can do to keep cookies soft?

[gariotin]

I'd experiment and try to rehydrate by soaking in some sherry or something similar. You might try a sweeting white wine and end up w/a great liqueur.

[jo-mel]

Add some candies ginger to a brownie mix. Really good.

[natboy888]

ooo cyrstalized ginger! yum!

we just found a really cool lemon ginger loaf that uses the cyrstalized variety to give it the perfect balance of sour and sweet/spicy

hmm about rehydrating i dont know...what if you "mushed" some fresh ginger and mix the juice into the candied version.

Edited November 12, 2006 by natboy888 (log)

[andiesenji]

I have a considerable store of candied ginger that's dried out a bit.  Does anyone have a good idea how to undry it? to soften it up a bit? I've considered soaking it much as one might plump raisins. Or, perhaps, giving it another turn of "candying" on the stove.

Another use for dried ginger is to add it to just about any spice loaf that calls for ginger. 

And, I'm not sure it will qualify as the recipe specifies stem ginger in syrup, but Pierre Herme has a terrific chocolate loaf  with stem ginger and apricots. It's in his Chocolate Desserts.

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Steam it for about 8 - 10 minutes. Dry it a bit on a rack, then shake in granulated sugar.

You can also dry it completely (I often do so) and grind it in a spice grinder. Just lay it on a sheet pan and place in a very low oven - 175 - it should take 2-3 hours, depending on how thick it is.

You can cut a piece of candied or crystallized ginger into 1 inch long "sticks" larger than "matchstick" size, wrap 1/2 an apricot around it, (if these are tough, or a bit dry, do the steam bit again). Stab with a toothpick (round) or one of the cocktail skewers through where the two edges of the apricot overlaps. Then dip the whole thing in chocolate. Semisweet or bittersweet is what my friends prefer but you can use any type.

You can do the same thing with any dried fruit or glacé fruit such as pear, peach, plum, or pair the stick of ginger with a stick of candied orange or lemon peel and dip all or part into chocolate. When it hardens, it will hold them together.

Edited November 12, 2006 by andiesenji (log)

[chow guy]

I love it in lemon ginger ice cream and fresh juicy pear pies.

[Peter B Wolf]

My wife, who is the baker in this house, makes an Apple Tarte with a short past crust, apples are usually a robust Russet which have lemon juice, no cinnamon, some Almond flavor and lot of chopped crystalized Ginger. She also moistens these with "Allen's" Brand Ginger Brandy.

[VanessaBerman]

It's amazing in cold natural yoghurt - a bit of warmth and sweetness in that white cold sour.... yum yum. just wish i could eat yoghurt more often but it gives me headaches...

can still eat the ginger, though, so all is well!

[Cook456]

I purchase wonderful candied ginger from Whole Foods. I chop it up and add it to my cranberry sauce.

Also just nibble on it. It's a great digestive.

[teagal]

A year ago I took some candied ginger, chopped it pretty fine and added it to some vodka. I let it sit for a month and then strained it. It turned to a pretty golden color and tasted lovely. Just remembered, I added sugar syrup to it too. No one else liked it, but I enjoyed sipping on it. Hmmm- part of a bottle is still in my freezer, maybe a little nip will be nice now!

[Lilija]

I've tossed it in the usual baked goods, pies, pumpkin based things, cookies, breads...all delicious. I've used it chopped mixed with nuts in a syrup, to glaze a basic lemon poundcake, too, that came out well.

My favorite current use, is speared on a cocktail pick, alongside a maraschino cherry, marinating in a Dark 'n Stormy, or a Jamaican Firefly. It gets all soft, afterwhile, and half the sugar dissolves, what a treat to eat it once it's soaked with a good dark rum.

This thread has given me a million awesome ideas, too!

[andiesenji]

When I listed the things which have a great affinity for ginger, I forgot to list pears.

I mince candied ginger very fine and add it to the liquid/syrup in which I poach pears.

I carefully ease them into a narrow container and pour the liquid over them so they are covered as much as possible. Chill them for 3 or 4 hours.

Serve with a dollop of lightly sweetened sour cream.

Pork chops, braised or fried, are very good served with applesauce, fresh if you have the time.

For each cup of applesauce, add 1 tablespoon of finely minced candied ginger at least one day prior to serving.

(Requires thinking ahead - something I often miss!) or cook the applesauce/ginger gently for 30 minutes.

Edited March 30, 2007 by andiesenji (log)

[William Higham]

I second the ice-cream thought. Plain crystallised ginger ice-cream made with a custard base goes wonderfully with a huge range pies and tarts.

[toweringpine]

I made ginger cookies with crystalized ginger from Andie's recipe. Fantastic. I went all the way with the ginger flavour and replaced the traditional molasses with the syrup left over in the crockpot.

This method for making the ginger is excellent. I just bought several pounds of ginger that will end up being crystalized Christmas presents. Thanks for the great recipe!!

[aprilmei]

Is there a trick to chopping ginger? I've tried using kitchen shears, a knife and the food processor - but the stuff just sticks to the blades - it doesn't really get chopped.

TIA

[Peter the eater]

Ginger is definitely calming to the tummy.  It's fairly rare for people to not tolerate it but it happens.

However, for motion sickness, it helps many.  My boss always takes a good-sized bag whenever he has to fly and ends up sharing it with other people sitting near him.

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The first time I had crystallized ginger for medicinal reasons was aboard a passenger ferry to Newfoundland (14 hours across the Bay of Saint Lawrence in the North Atlantic).

I am always skeptical of "non-pharmaceutical" remedies but man alive it worked! And its delicious.

[ludja]

I love it in lemon ginger ice cream and fresh juicy pear pies.

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yes and yes... I add a little tangerine zest to the pear and crystallized ginger pears courtesy of cookbook author and chef Bill Neal.

When i don't have time to make ice cream I'll also just fold some chopped xstallized ginger into softened vanilla ice cream. This is wonderful with ripe cantaloupe...

[andiesenji]

Is there a trick to chopping ginger? I've tried using kitchen shears, a knife and the food processor - but the stuff just sticks to the blades - it doesn't really get chopped.

TIA

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If by "chopping" you mean cutting it into fine dice, the easiest way is to break it into its natural sections, scrape the skin off the largest pieces then cut a slice off of one side to "square it up" - so to speak.

Cut it LENGTHWISE into slices then stack the slices and cut them into "matchsticks" - again, this is along the grain.

Now you gather the matchsticks into a small bundle and cut across them so you end up with fine dice.

For the candied or crystallized ginger, the sections or "fingers" need to be cut across the grain or at an angle.

I prepare it in large batches and slice it on a mandoline. I have an old Bron and have replaced the blades a few times. The V-slicers and angled slices work okay too.

With a mandoline you make sure that all the slices are the same thickness and will cook evenly.

For a long time I only made candied ginger with young ginger or "green" ginger because the mature stuff was simply too tough.

One day I was in the kitchen of my favorite Chinese restaurant in Reseda (I still lived in the Valley) and I watched on of the cooks slice a large chunk of ginger, cut it into strips and dump it into a steamer.

I asked the owner about it and he said that steaming the ginger would make it very tender, "like young ginger" but without losing any of its "bite" as would happen with parboiling it.

A synapse clicked in my brain and I thought, "what a great idea" and I tried it on my next batch of candied ginger. It took a bit of tweaking to get it just right, but that is how I developed my recipe/method and have been preparing it that way for almost twenty years.

[aprilmei]

Sorry, I should have been more precise. I'm talking about an easy way to chop candied ginger - it's so sticky! I've tried different ways of chopping it and it gums up the blades of knives, kitchen shears and food processors. I tried mixing it with granulated sugar and it still gets stuck on the food processor blades.

[Susie Q]

A happy accident happened one weekend several years ago when a tired Cost Plus clerk charged me for the next guys bag of candied ginger and stuck it in my bag.

Now I have it stashed all over the place and carry a tin of it in my purse to nibble on. The dried up pieces are my favorite to "work on" as I go through out my day.

I like putting it in scones, ice cream, plain sugar cookies, granola, yogurt. I'v been wanting to try and make some. I should just do it.

Edited October 23, 2007 by Susie Q (log)

[andiesenji]

Sorry, I should have been more precise. I'm talking about an easy way to chop candied ginger - it's so sticky! I've tried different ways of chopping it and it gums up the blades of knives, kitchen shears and food processors. I tried mixing it with granulated sugar and it still gets stuck on the food processor blades.

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Put it in the freezer for an hour. Or you can try spraying your knife with Vegelene or similar oil.

Edited October 23, 2007 by andiesenji (log)

[aprilmei]

Thanks, will try that.

[layla17]

I loved adding crystallized ginger to pumpkin pie and along with a little in my pumpkin roll and pumpkin bread.

[toweringpine]

The first time I make something new I tend to follow the recipe pretty close. The second time I figure I am a pro and usually screw it up...

I tried to crystallize some ginger this wekeend but did not have my mise en place. I did not realize how much more ginger I was doing than the last time I did this. My crockpot was full to the top with all the ginger and although I used an entire bag of sugar it was not enough to make the syrup properly. The slices are drying but they are not getting sticky enough as I didn't have enough sugar in the pot with them.

What do you think would happen if I added more sugar to the syrup, reboiled it, then added the ginger slices for a few more hours in the crockpot, then tried drying again?

I am worried that without enough sugar in the mix they will not be properly preserved.

Ginger is cheap, I could start over again but I have invested a lot of time so far and hate to consider it a wasted effort.

Even if this batch ends up being ground into ginger powder I guess it isn't a complete waste as I have learned the value of having everything I need together before starting.