How do I get the best out of the ginger I harvested?

Discussion in 'Recipes & Remedies' started by mischief, Aug 23, 2012.

  1. mischief

    mischief Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2009
    Messages:
    1,665
    Likes Received:
    94
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Gender:
    Female
    Occupation:
    s/e
    Location:
    South Waikato New ZeLeand
    Climate:
    Cool mountain
    I have had this plant now for 3(?) years and decided that it needed to be harvested because it was starting to get too big.
    I had tasted the rhizomes at the end of each year and at the start of each spring but they didnt taste very gingery.

    This lot (all 11.5 kgs of it, so Help!!), actually does taste like ginger although it doesnt have that sweetish zing like the supermarket one do...
    I pulled it out and wash the soil out of them,trimmed the roots off and laid them in the sun on the path for the day, but have had to bring them inside cos it looks like rain tonight.I was sort of expecting it to not taste like anything again and so not worth the bother to process but it is...

    I think they need to be dried out for a while but am not sure-I vaguely remember seeing a TV program where a pile of this was being dried, but that may have been just to make dried powdered ginger.I as going to dry it for afew days while I figured out what to do with it all.

    I have a basic idea of how to make the sliced sushi type ginger and candied ginger, but have never actually done this.There was a recipe in one of my grandmothers cook books for the candied ginger and preserved ginger (in sugar syrup), but that does not seem to be on my shelves at the moment-going to have to have words with my daughter.

    Does anyone process their ginger and have favourite things they do with it?
    (I love green ginger wine, but that may need to wait til I have more time, a recipe would be well received tho).
     
  2. Stubby

    Stubby Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2012
    Messages:
    96
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I am interested to find out myself... I am putting ginger in the ground this weekend. Hope it doesn't take 3 years to get some 'gingery' ginger. It's one of our favourite spices, even goes in soups around here... gingered chicken soup... yum yum.
     
  3. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2009
    Messages:
    5,925
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    0
    The easiest option I have discovered is ginger in sherry. Peel the ginger and cut into 1 cm cubes. Put in jar. Cover with sweet sherry. It's that easy. Keeps in the cupboard. I'm still using some 1 did 2 years ago. Tastes gingery and sweet and the sherry does too!

    I have tried candied and pickled ginger at home too, but the ginger in sherry is by far the simplest and I like it best.
     
  4. mischief

    mischief Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2009
    Messages:
    1,665
    Likes Received:
    94
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Gender:
    Female
    Occupation:
    s/e
    Location:
    South Waikato New ZeLeand
    Climate:
    Cool mountain
    Stubby,
    I am beginning to think that my ginger took so long to be tasty because our climate is quite cool- as your in Qld, where its hotter probably wont have this problem.
    I was told it wouldnt grow here, but it did....eventually.

    Eco, was that fresh out of the ground(obviously cleaned up), or did you leave it to dry at all?
     
  5. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2009
    Messages:
    5,925
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Fresh out of the ground. Just the dirt cleaned off and the rough skin scraped away. But I don't think it is too late to do yours.
     
  6. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2006
    Messages:
    4,771
    Likes Received:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    0
    The Chinese have two forms of common Ginger
    Old Ginger (over 3 years)
    Young or normal Ginger ( about a year old)
    The older the ginger, the spicier it gets. (The older the wine, the finer the taste.)
    Chinese Translation (Traditional):
    薑還是老的辣

    You could candy the roots and coat it in healthy dark chocolate?
     
  7. mischief

    mischief Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2009
    Messages:
    1,665
    Likes Received:
    94
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Gender:
    Female
    Occupation:
    s/e
    Location:
    South Waikato New ZeLeand
    Climate:
    Cool mountain
    I'm beginning to think that ginger needs to harvested in Autumn rather than late winter early spring.
    I noticed that the preserved ginger I did tasted starchy and didnt go translucent as I expected.

    I did do a jar of ginger in sherry and one thinly sliced in sweetened vinegar.
    But still have alot that I havent done anything to.
    I'm wondering if I should just replant it and harvest again in Autumn.

    When I use this lot in cooking,it isnt very strong tasting but the cooked in sugar syrup definitely tastes gingery,just starchy as well.
    I was pleased when I saw that the syrup went pink.I had been told that it should.

    I also noticed that the bits that were above ground had gone green- abit like potatoes so I cut those bits off.Is this why they say to mulch plants really well perhaps?
     
  8. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2006
    Messages:
    4,771
    Likes Received:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Pink?
    Do you have galangal rather then Ginger ginger?
     
  9. BananaBender

    BananaBender Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2011
    Messages:
    28
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Living in the tropics I usually just dig rhizome as i need it. Tumeric is great this way to. Not much waste this way.

    I like to grate some fresh rhizome of ginger into some liquorice root and drink this every other day to keep the acid reflux at bay.

    Cordials are a good way to concentrate excess ginger for later use.

    Homemade ginger cordial with fresh tahitian limes - now thats tropical refreshment.
     
  10. Farside

    Farside Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2012
    Messages:
    138
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    You can use the older root to make a lacto-fermentation starter:
    https://alifeunprocessed.blogspot.ca/2012/02/how-to-make-ginger-bug.html

    This forms the basis for making traditional non-alcoholic (yeast fermented) sodas and fermented foods.
    Here is a link to some tasty recipes for preserving your permacultural excess:
    https://nourishedkitchen.com/recipe-index/ferments-cultured-food/

    Pickled beets, cabbage, chillis, lemons, melon, veges, cucumbers, meat, you name it you can pretty much preserve it this way.

    Any recipe that uses whey as a starter can be substituted with a ginger root starter FWIW.

    The lacto-bacteria that is the active component in the pickling process lives on the outer skin of roots, and ginger is a particularly good host for them. The bacteria live symbiotically with the plant and this is why they're there in the first place.
     
  11. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2009
    Messages:
    5,925
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Thanks for these Farside! I'm dairy intolerant so it's really good to find other lactic ferments and I have ginger in the garden.
     
  12. mischief

    mischief Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2009
    Messages:
    1,665
    Likes Received:
    94
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Gender:
    Female
    Occupation:
    s/e
    Location:
    South Waikato New ZeLeand
    Climate:
    Cool mountain
    Hi M,
    I dont know what sort of ginger it is.
    I noticed one spring, that the fresh ginger in our local supermarket had lots of lovely sprouts on it so I bought a Big piece,cut it into three and planted them in different parts of the garden.
    Ours have definitely grown fatter than the ones in the shop but dont seem to have the same flavour.
    I used bits each autumn when they started to die back and havent noticed any improvement in flavour.
    Might have to send some to my siblings, so they can grow some for me, (where its hotter).

    Farside,
    Thanks for the link that looks really interesting.
     

Share This Page

-->