There are ginger roots in the vegetable section of the supermarket. Fresh, even, so beautiful and branched. And you know that ginger is useful for normalizing fat and cholesterol metabolism in the body as well. So,giving in to inspiration, you buy a whole package, and at home you find that it is not being consumed as quickly as you expected. The product does not have to be thrown away if you learn how to store it correctly.
If you just put ginger root on the refrigerator shelf, it will quickly lose its healing juice and begin to emit an unpleasant, earthy smell.
Choosing the best quality ginger
The high quality ginger root is suitable for long-term storage. It should be firm, with no green buds or dark spots, and a smooth skin. Wrinkled areas on the surface indicate that the ginger has already begun to spoil
Ginger, on which a white coating has appeared, is not suitable for storage, but it can be eaten if all moldy areas are cut off.
The ginger root is consumed slowly, but there are several ways to preserve it so that it retains all the beneficial properties until the next cooking.
How to store ginger?
Drying
Dry ginger at room temperature, or better use a special electric dryer oven.
To prepare ginger in the oven, you have to:
Rinse the tubers and peel them.
Cut into thin slices.
Line a baking sheet with baking paper and arrange the slices in one layer.
Place the baking sheet in an oven preheated to 150 degrees.
Dry with the door a little open for some hours.
Check for readiness: if the slice breaks easily, emitting a quiet crackle, if there are no soft or wet areas on it – then drying is complete. If not, continue drying and check periodically for readiness.
In an electric dryer, ginger is dried in accordance with the accompanying model instructions.
Pickling
There are a huge number of pickled ginger recipes. Apples are the main additional ingredients: some housewives add beets, radishes, and spices. We will provide a basic recipe.
Ingredients:
ginger -2 Oz;
hot water -3 Oz;
salt -0.5 Oz;
sugar – 0.5 Oz;
vinegar (table or apple cider) – 1 tablespoon.
Peel and cut ginger as thin as possible. The slices are placed in a glass jar, covered with salt and poured with boiling water.
The young ginger root will react with the vinegar and turn pink over time. This does not happen with the old root.
The cooled water is poured out of the jar, leaving such an amount that the slices remain in the liquid. Add vinegar and sugar, mix, close the jar and refrigerate. In this form, ginger is already ready for use, but its taste improves over time.
Candying
It is convenient to store candied slices in a glass jar or in a canvas bag at room temperature in a dry, dark place. This is a tasty and healthy tea delicacy.
In 3 Oz of ginger, there is the daily intake of magnesium (for an adult), the daily intake of iron and half of the daily requirement of calcium.
All you need is to prepare a syrup from water and sugar (proportions 1: 1), dip thin slices of ginger in it and boil for 15 minutes.
After taking out the pieces, roll them in sugar or powdered sugar, place them on a baking sheet lined with paper and dry in an oven preheated to 150F for 30 minutes.
Attention! If you want to lose weight it’s better to use a fresh root.
Ginger with honey and lemon
A mixture with lemon and honey is considered an excellent remedy for strengthening the immune system.
Required Ingredients:
lemon – 2 pieces;
fresh ginger -7 Oz;
honey – 3.5 Oz.
Ginger roots are washed and peeled. The lemon is thoroughly washed with a brush, then passed through a meat grinder together with ginger. Add honey, mix and let it brew in a dark place for 24 hours.
Remember that lemon and honey can cause severe allergic reactions. Start with small doses of the mixture and monitor your health closely. Even if there is no allergy, do not use the product for more than one month.
How to store fresh ginger?
Whole ginger root is impressive in size, so it is usually bought in portions. But even this amount is almost impossible to use immediately.
When storing a whole root, the main goal is to preserve the beneficial properties of ginger and prevent mold.
In fridge
Only whole roots are suitable for long-term storage in the refrigerator. Chopped ginger has a much shorter shelf life. The method of packing is also important before being sent to the refrigerator:
- a special plastic bag with a zip-lock fastener (before fastening, you must squeeze the air out of the bag as carefully as possible) keeps the ginger fresh for 8 weeks;
- regular paper bag – half a month;
- paper towel – 1-2 weeks.
In the freezer
ginger can be frozen and stored for a very long time. To do this, the roots are first washed, dried, placed in clean bags and sent to the freezer.
For use in cooking, ginger can not even be thawed, but quickly grate the required amount and return the rest of the root to the refrigerator. Re-freezing will greatly affect the taste.
Do not confuse storage in a freezer at home with an industrial shock freeze that preserves vitamins and useful properties of food.
You can freeze already grated ginger by placing it in bags or ice cube trays. This storage method has a big drawback: when defrosting, only the taste of the ginger root is preserved, and little remains of the useful ones.
In vacuum containers and bags
Vacuum packing significantly increases the life of ginger. Such bags are suitable for whole tubers, slices and small chips – fresh or pre-frozen.
In the soil
This unusual method will preserve the ginger for as long as possible. Fill a small flower pot in equal parts with sand, peat, humus and plant ginger root. If you keep the pot in a dry and dark place, the plant will “sleep”, if you put the pot in the light and water, the tuber will sprout.
For cooking, you can use green leaves or dig up the root, cut off the right amount, and plant the rest again. If mold or flies do not start in the ground, an improvised garden bed will supply the kitchen with the freshest ginger on demand.
How to store processed ginger?
The peeled and chopped root can either be frozen or stored in liquid. The second method is preferable: it conserves nutrients. For this, ginger is poured into a suitable jar, poured with boiling water, allowed to cool and put into the refrigerator. Shelf life is 2 weeks.
Dried ginger is enough to pack in a paper bag or in a canvas bag and leave in a dry, dark place.
Pickled ginger is kept in the refrigerator in glass jars with a tightly closed lid. A tight bag with a zip-lock is also suitable for storage.
It is recommended to keep ginger oil in the dark at room temperature in the same container in which it was purchased.
The ginger, lemon and honey mixture is conveniently stored in the refrigerator in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Over time, the product loses its useful properties, so it is not necessary to cook it in large quantities.
Where is the best place to store ginger for tea?
Tea can be brewed from any root: fresh, dried, frozen, powdered. But a frozen one gives only a flavoring bouquet, and there is little use in it. Therefore, in addition to fresh tea, dried roots or those stored in soil-filled flower pots are best suited for tea.
Storage times vary from a few days to 2 years. It all depends on the processing and the conditions in which it is kept.
Type of ginger and storage location. Maximum period:
- Fresh, unpackaged, refrigerated for 1 week
- Fresh, wrapped in a tight paper bag 30 days
- Dried, in the closet 2 years
- Chopped, grated, ground, refrigerated for 2 weeks
- Pickled, refrigerated 60 days
- Frozen,in a freezer 6 months
- ginger oil, 30 days
- ginger-lemon-honey mixture, refrigerated for 2 weeks
While there are many ways to preserve the flavor and health benefits of ginger, try to use fresh root vegetables cooking at home and in medicine.
Keep reading: Useful properties of ginger
