Q. I don't use fresh ginger very often, so whenever I buy it, I end up having a lot left over. What's the best way to store it?
A. We purchased several knobs of ginger, cut one end off of each to replicate the way they would normally be used in the kitchen, and stored them using several different methods: unwrapped in a cool, dark pantry; on the counter exposed to sunlight; in the refrigerator (unwrapped, wrapped in foil, wrapped in plastic wrap, and placed in a zipper-lock bag); and in the freezer (wrapped in foil).
After two weeks, we examined the samples, all of which had dried out and sealed up where they had been cut. The frozen ginger fared the worst: Following a brief thaw, it was porous and mushy, rendering the process of grating or mincing nearly impossible. Both samples of room temperature-stored ginger were shriveled and had started to sprout. All of the wrapped, refrigerated ginger retained a smooth, taut exterior but exhibited spots of mold where condensation had gotten trapped in the wrapper. The unwrapped, refrigerated ginger, however, had a relatively fresh appearance, with no mold. So the next time you have a leftover knob of ginger, just toss it into the refrigerator unwrapped.
[via Cook's Illustrated]
antares
ReplyDelete"The frozen ginger fared the worst: Following a brief thaw, it was porous and mushy, rendering the process of grating or mincing nearly impossible."
There is your problem, right there. You yahoos at Cooks Illustrated thawed your frozen ginger.
My wife is a chef, too. She freezes peeled ginger at home. At work, I don't know and she does not say. Anyway, at home when she wants ginger, she pulls a knob out of the freezer and grates it immediately. Frozen. For sliced ginger, she waits a few minutes -- legally, a few is three -- and slices the ginger quickly. My wife can do the Jacques-Pepin speed my-knife-is-a-food-processor thing, so from knob to slices takes seconds.
You can follow Cooks Illustrated if you want, but for me and my house, we freeze ginger.
Or cut up as described, plant it in several pots once the cuts dry over, and let it grow until you need it again. Buy once, enjoy forever.
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