Fresh ginger: like or dislike?
Welcome to Like or Dislike, where you get to share how you really feel about ingredients from the pantry, ingredients I'm thinking about adding to my pantry, other seasonal foods, and favorite cooking gear. The things you like are sure to find their way to the recipes here on The Perfect Pantry, so do tell.
Ah, fresh ginger. On the plus side, there's incomparable taste, and health benefits (settles your stomach, great for air travel). On the minus side, too much can overwhelm a dish and numb your taste buds. You can stick a knob of ginger in the ground, and it will produce many little gingers for a season's worth of cooking (thanks to my friend Julia for teaching me that). In Chinese and Indian cuisine, nothing replaces fresh ginger, which brings balance to the seasonings in stir-fries and curries. Dried ginger, which I use in baking, is no substitute for fresh. Do you agree?
Fresh ginger: like or dislike?
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LOVE ginger! but i agree, too much can really mess up high expectations for a dish....i like to thinly slice it, saute it along with onions for a good flavor in dishes outside the usual stir fries.....i find that ginger gives a warm *zing* to vegs, which we're trying to eat more of, having meat more as a *condiment* instead of it being center stage; i appreciate and utilize the healing properties of ginger as well.....good stuff, maynard ;0)
Love it, always have a supply of peeled and thinly sliced ginger in the freezer, ready to go!
Love it! I must try growing some if it is that easy.
A GREAT ADDITION TO MANY DISHES---JUST USED SOME IN OUR FIRST BATCH OF APPLE SAUCE --
GORDON
I keep a small hand of ginger in the freezer to use as needed. The microplane has made grating a snap - don't peel, it stays behind. Chopping, mincing, smashing are all good. Steeping for tea (with turmeric) is a treat.
I love all the tastes of foods that traditionally use ginger. My only complaint is that it the taste doesn't come through clearly - am I expecting too much? Is it because of using it from the freezer? It's certainly fragrant when I put it into the food.
I've grown it, following the post Lydia referenced. Harvesting it never happened, but it was fun to watch the plant develop, and it lasted in a pot for a few years.
Crystallized! Love it!
I love ginger, and I'm thinking I must try growing some because I often want it and don't have any in the fridge.
LOVE fresh ginger and always have it in the freezer. I have never planted it but may try it! Thanks for the tip. :)
Fresh ginger tastes like Lemon Pledge to me! But I love dried ginger in baking, so go figure :)
I dearly love fresh ginger. I make it into an amazing tea and I use a lot of it. I will try growing it. Thanks for that tip, Lydia!
I love it and use it all the time in Chinese and Indian style dishes. I buy a chunk of it, wrap it in aluminum foil, put it in a plastic bag, and freeze it. That way I always have fresh ginger available.
Here' the post about growing ginger - Perfect Pantry 2009!
http://www.theperfectpantry.com/2009/07/ginger-root-recipe-steamed-fish-packets.html
I love ginger. I just started growing it. It took 4 months for the ginger to sprout, but now it is going gangbusters.
I keep a small jar of minced fresh ginger in my refrigerator. I cook many Asian dishes, and not having to prep a knob of ginger speeds meal prep. I'm very fortunate that there is a huge Asia Mart near my home where I can buy ingredients for any Asian recipe.