We love ginger!
We keep a piece of fresh ginger root in a lovely bowl on our kitchen counter so its always on hand.
We even travel with ginger so we can make a spot of fresh ginger tea when we’re on the road. Yes, ginger is great for digestion and settles nausea or an upset tummy, and its warming and grounding taste makes anywhere feel like home.
If ginger is not a staple in your kitchen, maybe you’ve yet to discover its versatility!
Perhaps it’s time you found some FUN with ginger! Try an experiment to see how many family favourites you can sneak a bit of ginger into. Using fresh ginger in place of fresh garlic as an interesting way to change up the flavour profile of many dishes (and much nicer on the breath as well!).
TIP 👉🏼 We also love that we can put every bit of the ginger to good use! Never throw out those end bit or scraps. When dried, you can simply grind them up in a high speed blender for use in soups and stews.
And ginger is a flavourful and meaningful addition to benefit from warm and spiced milk.
Looking for a bit of inspiration? Try your hand at this Easy Candied Ginger!
You can nibble a little piece as a sweet treat after a meal. Add a few fine dices to the top of cookies, before baking. Dip it in chocolate or float it in hot chocolate! This Easy Ginger Candy would also make a lovely gift!
And as a BONUS, with this recipe you’ll also end up with a lovely ginger tea and a beautiful ginger syrup. Talk about versatile!!
How to Make an Easy Candied Ginger:
Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 cups peeled and very thinly sliced fresh ginger (by hand or with a mandolin)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup organic cane sugar (approx) + 1/4 cup for coating the candied ginger
- 1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
- Place sliced ginger in a small saucepan and cover with 2 cups water, bring to a boil
- Reduce heat to a high simmer, and continue cooking for 10 minutes
- Drain ginger, reserving the simmering liquid (approx. 2 cups)
TIP 👉🏼 This simmering liquid is a very strong ginger infusion (read more about Making Simple Herbal Infusions ➤). You’ll use about 1/2 of it for the remainder of the recipe, but you can use the remaining cup as a nice strong ginger tea. Because it’s very strong, we would recommend adding approx. 1/4 cup to 1-1 1/2 cups of boiling water to make an enjoyable tea. Try it with a little lemon and honey ??
- Add the cooked ginger back into the pot. Add enough of the reserved ginger infusion to just cover the ginger (approx 1 cup). It’s important that you add exactly the same amount of sugar as the reserved ginger infusion, so take note of the quantity used. Add the same amount of sugar to the pot (this will also be approx. 1 cup). Add salt and stir to combine. Bring back to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook for 15-20 mins or until the liquid looks slightly thickened.
- Place a colander over a small bowl and drain the ginger into the colander. You want to drain as much of the syrup off the ginger as possible, so you can leave the ginger to drain (and cool) for approx. 30 minutes if desired.
TIP 👉🏼 You now have a approx. 1 cup of ginger syrup (read more about Making Herbal Syrups ►). Add a tablespoon or two as a lively addition to your lemonade or sparkling water. You could also add it to warm milk for a nourishing and soothing evening drink.
- Add 1/4 cup sugar to a bowl and add the sticky ginger slices. Toss to coat evenly and completely.
- Separate the ginger slices and lay them out to dry on a cooling rack or parchment covered cookie sheet. Let them cool and air-dry for 4 – 24 hours, turning periodically.
- Alternatively, lay the ginger slices on a parchment covered baking sheet. Pre-heat your oven to 200 F. Turn the oven off (very important!), place the cookie tray on a middle rack and allow to dry in the warmed oven for 4 hours (checking and turning periodically), or until dry.
Your candied ginger slices will keep well in an air-tight container for several months (…as if they’d last that long ?).
Give it a try!! If you already love ginger… you’re sure to be even more smitten! If you’re new to ginger, we hope you delight in this 3-in-1 recipe!!
Inspired Creativity!
With a little practice, working with ginger can serve to inspire some additional culinary creativity!
Why not try to infuse some other herbs with your slices of ginger?
- Maybe some ginger with lavender or mint in the summer months?
- And we love some cinnamon stick and cardamom pods with ginger in the winter.
Each playful exploration will result in something new and interesting!
What a lovely (and FUN) way to get to know this amazing herbal ally!
