I read this technique somewhere about preserving gingeroot for an extended
period of time (don't remember where), have followed it, and am wondering if
anyone has done it--and what the results have been.

You simply cut up a ginger "hand" into chunks, put them in a jar and add
dry sherry or Shao Hsing wine to cover--and refrigerate. As you need a
teaspoonful or so of ginger for a recipe (over the months and years), you
fish out a chunk and mince it.

Recently, I've been casting glances at my jar. The liquid is cloudy and
some kind of sediment has collected at the bottom. There've been no ill
effects to me, so far, from using ths ginger. But I wonder whether I should
be "maintaining" my store more carefully, for health reasons.

Any thoughts?

OLY

On 2006-04-25 22:44:20 -0400, "Arsenio Oloroso"
> said:

> I read this technique somewhere about preserving gingeroot for an
> extended period of time (don't remember where), have followed it, and
> am wondering if anyone has done it--and what the results have been.
>
> You simply cut up a ginger "hand" into chunks, put them in a jar and
> add dry sherry or Shao Hsing wine to cover--and refrigerate. As you
> need a teaspoonful or so of ginger for a recipe (over the months and
> years), you fish out a chunk and mince it.
>
> Recently, I've been casting glances at my jar. The liquid is cloudy
> and some kind of sediment has collected at the bottom. There've been
> no ill effects to me, so far, from using ths ginger. But I wonder
> whether I should be "maintaining" my store more carefully, for health
> reasons.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> OLY

I preserved ginger for years like that, with no problem. The big
difference though is that I always found that the ginger had lost its'
"bite".
SB

sharonborovay wrote, On 26/04/2006 13:57:
>> You simply cut up a ginger "hand" into chunks, put them in a jar and
>> add dry sherry or Shao Hsing wine to cover--and refrigerate. As you
>> need a teaspoonful or so of ginger for a recipe (over the months and
>> years), you fish out a chunk and mince it.

> I preserved ginger for years like that, with no problem. The big
> difference though is that I always found that the ginger had lost its'
> "bite".
> SB

Candied ginger will also keep for a long time, _and_ retains the bite.
Not sure how suitable it would be for cooking with, I did not try that.

Candying ginger takes about two weeks however. Lots of heating and
adding sugar every few days.

I doubt you'll poison yourself with alco-ginger. As long as the alcohol
stays strong enough to stop bacteria and fungus growing it should be
safe. Does the "bite" get transferred to the sherry? That could be an
interesting drink!

Would it not be easier to chop it up and then freeze it on a tray. The
lumps could be stored in a air tight container once frozen to keep out
the freezer flavour. Could even be grated, then frozen.

--
-------
# | |
:===[==¬|====;
[/ \|___|_/ \|
\_/ \_/
DavidM

Arsenio Oloroso wrote:

> I read this technique somewhere about preserving gingeroot for an extended
> period of time (don't remember where), have followed it, and am wondering if
> anyone has done it--and what the results have been.
>
> You simply cut up a ginger "hand" into chunks, put them in a jar and add
> dry sherry or Shao Hsing wine to cover--and refrigerate. As you need a
> teaspoonful or so of ginger for a recipe (over the months and years), you
> fish out a chunk and mince it.
>
> Recently, I've been casting glances at my jar. The liquid is cloudy and
> some kind of sediment has collected at the bottom. There've been no ill
> effects to me, so far, from using ths ginger. But I wonder whether I should
> be "maintaining" my store more carefully, for health reasons.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> OLY
>
>
>
>
>

Hi OLY

Sherry is a fortified wine. It has had alcohol added after the
fermentation process. They are commonly 21% or more alcohol. This
enables the wine to be kept for some time.
Fortified wines have a replaceable cork or cap.

Regular wines alcohol content is not sufficient to deter yeast or
bacterial growth. Natural fermentation seldom exceeds 14-16%. Once
opened they should be consumed or refrigerated for short periods.

For Shao Hsin (13.5%) I would suggest additional grain spirits.

Both ginger and ginseng are often preserved in brandy as a medicinal
treatment. Haven't tried the roots afterward though.

Candied ginger is nice in sweetened dishes and deserts.

Drying is another method but this changes the flavour. Leave in large
slices and grind prior to use.

A very good method is to bury whole ginger in your Miso pail.
(Assuming you buy your miso in a pail.) ;-) It will keep very well but
have some extra flavor. In a dark salty miso like Mugi (barly miso) this
could be years.

Freezing is an alternative. Some suggest in water to help preserve
flavor.

Gordo

I preserve by chopping up the ginger in a food processor, and then
store them in very thin layers in a ziploc. Each time i need any, I
just break off some. The only problem I have this this is that
sometimes I get over zealous and made the layer too thick to break off.

Hello, jimstevens!
You wrote on Thu, 30 Nov 2006 15:05:03 GMT:

??>> I read this technique somewhere about preserving gingeroot
??>> for an extended period of time (don't remember where),
??>> have followed it, and am wondering if anyone has done
??>> it--and what the results have been.

Like Philippe Lemaire, I freeze the ginger root but put the
whole thing in a plastic bag. It's easier to grate the root if
you have something to hold onto. Usually, I run hot water over
the end and then grate. IFAIK, it keeps indefinitely but I think
it may lose flavor gradually. Since I am very fond of ginger,
too much is not a problem :-)

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

James Silverton wrote:

> Hello, jimstevens!
> You wrote on Thu, 30 Nov 2006 15:05:03 GMT:
>
>>> I read this technique somewhere about preserving gingeroot
>>> for an extended period of time (don't remember where),
>>> have followed it, and am wondering if anyone has done
>>> it--and what the results have been.
>
> Like Philippe Lemaire, I freeze the ginger root but put the
> whole thing in a plastic bag. It's easier to grate the root if
> you have something to hold onto. Usually, I run hot water over
> the end and then grate. IFAIK, it keeps indefinitely but I think
> it may lose flavor gradually. Since I am very fond of ginger,
> too much is not a problem :-)


Since ginger is so widely available these days, even in US supermarkets, and
costs only pennies, why bother to freeze it? I buy it often, and worst case,
if I don't use some for a while, and it goes bad, I'm out only a few
pennies.

I don't often grate ginger, but when I do, it's considerably easier to do it
if its frozen, so I often keep a piece in the freezer, not for the purpose
of preserving it, but just in case I need any grated.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

For years, I've kept sectioned off ginger root chunks, in an open mouthed
jar, topped with sherry, in the fridge!....How long?....Months at a time!

On Thu, 30 Nov 2006 14:18:51 -0500, "James Silverton"
<not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not> wrote:

>Hello, jimstevens!
>You wrote on Thu, 30 Nov 2006 15:05:03 GMT:
>
> ??>> I read this technique somewhere about preserving gingeroot
> ??>> for an extended period of time (don't remember where),
> ??>> have followed it, and am wondering if anyone has done
> ??>> it--and what the results have been.
>
>Like Philippe Lemaire, I freeze the ginger root but put the
>whole thing in a plastic bag. It's easier to grate the root if
>you have something to hold onto. Usually, I run hot water over
>the end and then grate. IFAIK, it keeps indefinitely but I think
>it may lose flavor gradually. Since I am very fond of ginger,
>too much is not a problem :-)
>
>James Silverton
>Potomac, Maryland
>
>E-mail, with obvious alterations:
>not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

"jimstevens" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 21:44:20 -0500, "Arsenio Oloroso"
>>You simply cut up a ginger "hand" into chunks, put them in a jar and add
>>dry sherry or Shao Hsing wine to cover--and refrigerate. As you need a
>>teaspoonful or so of ginger for a recipe (over the months and years), you
>>fish out a chunk and mince it.
>>Any thoughts?

The way I do it is to buy several "hands" of fresh ginger root, slice it
thin across the fibers, put it in the blender, and add a few cloves of
crushed garlic. Add enough Shao Hsing wine or sherry to cover it. Then blend
until it is a thick slurry. Put this into a plastic container and freeze it.
When you need some, just scrape it off the top with a spoon. No mincing
required. (Most recipes I use call for ginger and garlic together, but you
could leave out the garlic.) Also, if the ginger is young and fresh, there
is no need to peel it.

SL

James, you can also plant the root and always have a fresh supply.

--
"Anybody can have more birthdays, but it takes balls to get old!"

BetsyB

"James Silverton" <not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not> wrote in message
. ..
> Hello, jimstevens!
> You wrote on Thu, 30 Nov 2006 15:05:03 GMT:
>
> ??>> I read this technique somewhere about preserving gingeroot
> ??>> for an extended period of time (don't remember where),
> ??>> have followed it, and am wondering if anyone has done
> ??>> it--and what the results have been.
>
> Like Philippe Lemaire, I freeze the ginger root but put the whole thing in
> a plastic bag. It's easier to grate the root if you have something to hold
> onto. Usually, I run hot water over the end and then grate. IFAIK, it
> keeps indefinitely but I think it may lose flavor gradually. Since I am
> very fond of ginger, too much is not a problem :-)
>
> James Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland
>
> E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not