5. 10. 2020
CRYSTALLIZED or CANDIED GINGER Gluten and Lactose- Free Yield: 3 pint jars of candied ginger, 1 ½ cups of ginger flavored sugar, 1 quart of sweetened ginger liqueur
The past few weeks I was unable to find fresh ginger in the store and discovered the only place that had fresh ginger root was at amazon. The smallest amount of ginger that I could purchase was 2 pounds.
What in the world could i use so much ginger i was asking myself and realized, crystallized ginger!
Have you ever tried crystallized ginger or candied ginger as it is sometimes called. Let me tell you it is delicious. And it has the benefit of settling an upset stomach.
Long time ago, I had tried to make this and was less than impressed with my efforts. But faced with this large quantity of ginger I decided that I should give it a try again. It is easy, but you need to pay attention.
I was so very amazed at how well the crystallized ginger came out, I was also left with ginger liqueur and ginger sugar. The liqueur I reduced slightly and refrigerated to add to ‘seltzer’ to make my own ginger beer type drink and the ginger sugar I kept to add to sweeten teas or use in making cookies. Much like I would use a vanilla bean left in the sugar jar to add flavor.
Accidentally i made the best crysterlied ever. I turned away from the pot for perhaps a minute and discovered part of the ginger was carmallized. Of course I panicked, then tried to stir up the ginger sugar mess and ended up with a uniformly golden pot of ginger. Luckily I had prepared a sheet pan covered with parchment paper and sprinkled heavily with sugar and was able to save my ginger mess.
I should mention that you could scale this recipe up or down.
Using a mandolin or a very sharp knife was needed as the ginger slices should be of uniform thickness.
The recipe:
Ginger - 500 grams thinly sliced, about ⅛” granulated white sugar - equal weight to the “cooked ginger” water - 2 T
Let’s get cooking:
Measure out all the ingredients and set aside.
Peel the ginger with a spoon, this removes the papery brownish skin without losing any ginger. Reserve the peelings. Weigh and cut the peeled ginger in ⅛” thick slices. Place in a dutch oven and add water to just cover the ginger.
Bring the water to a boil. Lower the heat to medium/low and simmer the ginger for 30 to 40 minutes. Drain the ginger into a strainer set over a bowl and keep the ginger water. Add the peels into the bowl and set aside.
Weigh the ginger. Place the ginger back into the dutch oven and add sugar of equal weight and 3 T of water.
Bring the ginger mixture to a boil while stirring often until the liquid has mostly evaporated and the ginger is transparent, lower the heat and let the ginger almost dry stirring constantly. (this is where i turned away for a minute!) there will be a lot of sugar crusted on the sides of your Dutch Oven. Don't worry about this.
Spoon out the ginger with a slotted spoon or a skimmer onto the prepared sheet pan with sugar and toss, using a spatula, to coat and seperate the sliced ginger.
Pour the ginger water mixed with ginger peel into the dutch oven sir to dissolve the crusted sugar and bring to a boil. Cook down the ginger syrup until you have about a quart. Turn off the heat and leave to cool.
Place the thoroughly cooled crystallized ginger in jars, the sugar in another jar and pour the cooled ginger water into another jar, which you should refrigerate.
I ended up with 3 pint jars of ginger, 1 ½ c of ginger sugar and 1 quart of ginger water.
If I had wanted the ginger not to get caramelized, I should have paid attention and removed the pot from the heat and scooped out the ginger onto the prepared baking sheet while the ginger had that golden yellow color.
I keep the ginger candy on a shelf in the pantry or a cabinet. It should not be refrigerated. The ginger will get soggy. Not sure of shelf life. But it never lasts that long in our house.
There are many claims made regarding the benefits of ginger, It is said that ginger is an incredibly healthy spice with several health benefits.
Relief of nausea and aid in digestion. This we know for ourselves. This is one of the reasons crystallized ginger lives in our house.
As for the rest, I have no clue, but thought you might want to read up on it.
Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Reduction of muscle pain and soreness.
Reduce menstrual pain.
Lower blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes. (I would imagine NOT ginger candy)
Improve heart disease including the lowering of cholesterol.
Have a positive effect on brain function.
Help fight infections such as viruses, gingivitis and periodontitis.
Even prevent certain types of cancers.