Ginger
Ginger is used extensively as a cooking ingredient or spice in Asian and Indian cuisine. Though generally called "root", it is actually the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinalis.
Plant name: Zingiber officinale
Indian name: Adrak dried ginger is Sunt
Preparation
Fresh ginger should be washed and peeled with a mandolin or potato peeler.
Grate with a coarse cheese grater or slice thinly if required.
Powdered ginger
Dried ginger or ginger powder is useful in spice mixes where the moisture from fresh ginger would be undesirable. It has a warm spicy note reminiscent of ginger confections. It is not generally a suitable substitute for fresh ginger in most recipes as it is lacking the zesty lemony bite that fresh ginger has. If you do use it as a substitute, go easy! About 1/6 of a teaspoon of ginger powder is equivalent to 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger.
Stem ginger
Stem ginger is peeled ginger root, cut into chunks and stored in a sugar syrup. It can be stored at room temperature and has a reasonable shelf-life. It is usually eaten raw and is an ideal addition to cakes, sweets and desserts. It is not usually used in savoury dishes.
4 ways of preserving ginger
I think I have now found the very best way to preserve ginger - make ginger paste and freeze it in teaspoon or tablespoon measures, it's pretty easy to snap off as much as you need and if it is sealed it keeps for months in the freezer.
I've also found that slicing the ginger root (without peeling it first) and then freezing also works well. You need to partially separate the slices so you can remove just a few slices at a time once they are completely frozen.
As ginger dehydrates very quickly, another useful tip for preserving ginger is to peel and slice three or four large pieces of ginger and deep-freeze in an airtight box. It will keep for many months this way. When required, remove as many slices as you need and within a few minutes you will be able to chop as you would with fresh ginger.
Very lazy ginger is an excellent substitute for fresh ginger and keeps for about 3 months in the fridge. Recommended by Delia Smith!
Make Homemade Lazy Ginger. It takes minutes and at a fraction of the cost of the commercial offering.
Alternatives
Galangal is a rhizome that is related to ginger and has similar, though unique flavours and aromas.
Great with:
- Almost anything!
Peeling ginger
There is no need to peel ginger. As a result of attending a Thai cookery demo, we have learnt that peeling ginger is unnecessary unless for aesthetic purposes as the skin is high in fibre and full of flavour. However, do remove any bits that have become tough or woody.
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Ginger rhizome (root)
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Ginger preserved by slicing prior to freezing
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Powdered ginger
How much does one cup of ginger weigh?
Estimated US cup to weight equivalents:
| Ingredient | US Cups | Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh Ginger - chopped | 1 Cup | 100 g | 4 oz |
Conversion notes:
Every ingredient has a cups to ounces or grams conversion table. Search for the ingredient, cup to weight conversions are at the end of each ingredient page.
We also have a generic conversion table and a portions per person lookup.
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