What can I do with lots of ginger?

April 30, 2006 7:46 PM

What can I do with lots of ginger?

I've got pounds of fresh ginger that has to get used pretty quick. What can I make with it? Bonus points if I don't have to peel it.

posted by Etaoin Shrdlu to Food & Drink (27 answers total)

Best answer: Ginger ale 004%
posted by hortense at 7:58 PM on April 30, 2006

Candied/crystallized ginger. You'll have to peel it, and it takes a while to do, but it'll keep for-frickin'-ever. Decent recipe here. And I'll take it off your hands if you decide you don't like it. I've always got a bagful on my desk.
posted by solid-one-love at 8:01 PM on April 30, 2006

Grate it (or just slice fine, but if you've got a decent grater it shouldn't be difficult), steep it in some 100 proof vodka for a few weeks. Filter and dilute with simple syrup.

Slice thin and simmer in a 1:1 sugar/water syrup. Ginger syrup and candied ginger.
posted by kenko at 8:02 PM on April 30, 2006

Freeze it, unpeeled.
posted by aberrant at 8:10 PM on April 30, 2006

Ginger jam / marmalade / chutney (many recipes online) uses a lot of fresh ginger. It's good on cheese sandwiches, among other things, or stir a spoonful into a cup of boiling water for ginger tea. Unpeeled ginger won't make as pretty a jam as peeled, but it will taste fine.

You will need the usual jam-making supplies: sterile jars and lids, maybe melted paraffin (depending on jar/lid type), big ol' pot for sterilizing jars and lids, tongs for handling hot jars, ladle, maybe a funnel for getting jam into jars instead of on the floor. And a big pot for cooking the ginger jam. Jams should be brought to a rolling boil and the volume increases alarmingly at this point, so make sure your pot is a lot bigger than you think you need!
posted by Quietgal at 8:12 PM on April 30, 2006

Peel, slice, and store in white wine in the fridge. It'll last for a few weeks at least. It's a little pickly that way, so you'll lose the _fresh_ ginger taste, but the slices and the flavored wine are good for sauces or other liquidy things where you might want some gingery flavor.
posted by phrits at 8:27 PM on April 30, 2006

cut the ginger into thin rounds, then combine it with 1 part sugar 1 part water, boil it until it thickens, let it sit around some. use the syrup part to make ginger ale, then put the rounds in the oven and bake for a while to make candied ginger. two in one!
posted by soma lkzx at 8:31 PM on April 30, 2006

You could pickle it...I, like most people, only eat pickled ginger with sushi, but if I had a couple pounds in the fridge I would eat it all the time.

Here is the first recipe I found. Pretty simple, but not simple enough to get me the bonus points. And I guess realistically this would require a mandoline...but it would taste great!
posted by pinespree at 8:37 PM on April 30, 2006

I just store mine in the freezer and grate as needed.
posted by Ostara at 8:46 PM on April 30, 2006

Best answer: Ginger sauce! This keeps if you jar it and put it in the fridge.
This is super good on various barbecued things. I cut this down from restaurant-sized proportions, if you're wondering about the odd measurements.

1/5 c ginger
3/5 c onion
1/4 c oil
1/4 c vinegar
1/8 c soy sauce
1/20 c water

Zzt it in your food zzter until almost smooth.
posted by Sallyfur at 9:02 PM on April 30, 2006

Despite what soma lkzx says, you definitely don't want to boil your syrup, as there's a danger that you'll lose control over it. Simmer.
posted by kenko at 9:33 PM on April 30, 2006

peel the ginger. stuff the pieces into a Mason jar. Pour vodka over top. Seal, refrigerate. Use in martini recipes.
posted by seawallrunner at 9:53 PM on April 30, 2006

Juice it, strain, then add it to the vodka (preferably a very clear, crisp import). Use to cook ginger chicken, etc.
posted by mrmojoflying at 9:59 PM on April 30, 2006

Add it to hot chocolate or a mocha. Yum.
posted by gramcracker at 10:26 PM on April 30, 2006

Get alot of apples and make yourself a bunch of ginger apple cider. Yummy stuff.
posted by fenriq at 10:44 PM on April 30, 2006

Figging has never been mine thing, but you might enjoy it, and you have got all that ginger.
posted by bunglin jones at 2:20 AM on May 1, 2006

Heh. I just dropped in to see if anyone had mentioned figging. But seriously, make alcoholic ginger beer! It's frickin' delicious.
posted by hot soup girl at 3:36 AM on May 1, 2006

Best answer: Sorry you've got to peel it first, but you do. Then, slice a few big chunks into 1/4 inch thick slices. Put in a saucepan with a couple of pints of water. Adding cardamom pods if handy is a plus. Boil the hell out of it. Add nice, aromatic black tea (in a teabag, or loose -- you'll strain this either way).

Strain, drink. Good for what ails you.

Also: grate finely into damn near any fruit-based pie/cobbler or crisp. Apple, berry, peach or pear are all improved by this method.

I have never tried, but I suspect that both of these would be appropriate uses for frozen ginger.
posted by BT at 4:25 AM on May 1, 2006

You might like the spoon technique for peeling better than the knife one.
posted by O9scar at 4:40 AM on May 1, 2006

Grind into a paste, then freeze in 2 Tb portions. Any time you want to make indian food, there you go.
posted by rxrfrx at 4:41 AM on May 1, 2006

I'm with rxrfrx : Grind it, and freeze. I put it in a siplock bag, lay the bag flat, and try to create a flatish slab of ginger paste, then freeze. When I am cooking, I just break off as much as I need, and use - don't need to worry about defrosting etc. plus, the bags stack easily, and don't take up too much space in the freezer.
posted by darsh at 6:06 AM on May 1, 2006

Response by poster: I started a batch of the ginger beer last night, and it looks like it's coming along pretty well. I'm looking forward to trying it tomorrow. And mixing up a batch of Moscow Mules.

Sallyfur, that sauce sounds great! I'll definitely try mixing up a batch soon.

My wife also made some chai last night. Just black tea ginger and milk. Mmmm...

Still haven't made much of a dent in the ginger bag, so I'll keep trying more of the suggestions. I don't think I'm quite ready for the figging yet, though.
posted by Etaoin Shrdlu at 8:14 AM on May 1, 2006

Mmmm, homemade ginger beer.
Excellent use.
However, if you are a gin fan, try making a Moscow Mule with it. I find that it adds a depth of flavor unavailable in a vodka version.

I also second the "pickling" suggestion.
I keep some ginger in sherry in my fridge. It lasts for ever.
posted by Seamus at 8:59 AM on May 1, 2006

Dear oh dear, figging sounds perfectly awful. Interesting way to sell a horse, though!
posted by DenOfSizer at 10:03 AM on May 1, 2006

Send some of it to Jonasio's girlfriend.
posted by tangerine at 10:10 AM on May 1, 2006

Ginger beer the way the make it in Grenada: smash ginger up with a hammer, put it in a crock with a smashed pineapple and a lot of sugar. Let it sit for three or four days. Drink. Smile.
posted by zaelic at 12:23 PM on May 1, 2006

Simple recipe for homemade ginger ale. And here's one for ginger lemondade that looks good for warm weather.
posted by thekilgore at 2:07 PM on May 2, 2006