Ginger is a delicious root used in cooking all over the world. It is extremely popular in Asian dishes, and offers a fresh and unique flavor. You can do a lot with it, but we will get into that later.
If you are here, you are probably wondering what the best way to store this root is.
It may an uncommon ingredient where you are, so figuring out how to properly store it can be a challenge in itself, but you’ve come to the right place.
Here, we will go through what ginger is, the (many) health benefits of it, what you can do with it, and, of course, how to store it.
What Is Ginger?
The debate had gone on for many years – is ginger a herb or a spice. Truthfully, ginger is a spice, and a delicious one, at that.
It is a root that originated from Southeastern Asia and is known for its strong flavor and scent. Not only is this ingredient used in cooking, but it is a popular medicinal ingredient, too.
Health Benefits Of Ginger
Ginger has been known to reduce vomiting and nausea for morning sickness, as well as for patients going through chemotherapy.
Despite ginger’s record for helping with nausea, it has also been linked to possible miscarriages and bleeding in pregnant people. Because of this,
it is important to limit the intake of ginger while pregnant, as there could be a number of unpleasant and detrimental side effects.
It is possible for ginger to aid in weight loss, too, as reported by a 2019 study. Even ginger supplementation was proven to have an effect on the wait-hip ratio in a literature review, so this may be a helpful solution if you struggle with weight loss.
This spice can also help people with osteoarthritis, as found by a 2015 study. However, despite this incredible finding, the stomach upset that the ginger caused meant that the study’s participants dropped out.
Ginger has also been linked to both lowering blood sugars, improving heart disease risk factors, treating chronic indigestion, reducing menstrual pain, lowering cholesterol, and even possibly preventing cancer.
Conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease could also be improved through consuming ginger, which is thought to improve brain function.
Finally, ginger has also been used to help fight infections, such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Inflammatory Gum Disease
Because of the numerous possible health benefits of ginger, it is an extremely popular spice to incorporate into meals and daily life.
But now that you know what it can do for you, you might be wondering what you can do with it. Let’s take a look at a few of the things you can incorporate ginger into.
What Can You Do With Ginger?
You can use ginger in every kind of dish. Whether you want a dessert, lain course, or even a hot drink, you can add ginger to it.
There are recipes for cakes with ginger in it, teas, and even cocktails.
You can make delicious sauces with ginger, or use ginger purée, to add to meats or meat free substitutes, and they will all be delicious. One of the most popular uses for ginger is in a variety of curries, so why not give it a try?
What To Look For When Buying Ginger
Before learning how to properly store this root, you need to know how to buy it. Or more specifically, you need to know what to look out for in a good ginger root.
The ginger should be smooth or have minimal wrinkles on its peel. Wrinkles are a sign of deterioration, so this is very important to look out for when buying. It should be firm, and the skin should not be fibrous.
To test this, you nick the tip with your nail, when smell it to make sure it has that strong, aromatic smell. If the skin is taut and shiny, with no signs of wrinkling and harness, the ginger should be good to buy.
Methods For Storing Ginger
Okay, you’ve bought your ginger, but what now? Next, you need to figure out how to store your ginger properly so that it is perfectly fresh hand delicious when you need to use it.
There are a lot of ways you can store it, so you will need to decide which method works best for you and what you need to use it for.
Preserve The Ginger In A Spirit Or An Acidic Liquid
Depending on what you have at hand, you can store your freshly bought finger in a spirit or something acidic like vinegar or lemon juice.
If you do this, you need to be aware that whatever you store it in could change its flavor, so you need to choose wisely. It is likely that the ginger would taste slightly like vodka, but also that the vodka will have a ginger aftertaste.
To do this, all you need to do is fill a jar with whichever liquid you decide to use, and submerge the ginger in it.
Doing this should allow the ginger to keep for several weeks, but you will need to keep an eye on it as the moment the liquid starts to turn cloudy, there is probably mold present.
Plant It
This method might supply you with a never-ending supply, so be careful. If you have ginger and aren’t sure when you will use it, you can plant it in a small pot and leave it somewhere sunny, like the window sill.
It will soon start to shoot and look like a regular houseplant in no time. When the time comes for you to use ginger, you can lift the plant and chop off as much as you need before returning it to its pot.
Don’t worry – this may sound vicious, but it will not hurt or negatively impact the plant. The only thing you can really do to damage the ginger plant is forget to water it.
Other than that, there you have your never ending supply of ginger. You’re welcome.
Freeze The Ginger
Freezing ginger is probably one of the most popular methods for storing it. Frozen food will keep indefinitely according to the FDA, but its quality will slowly deteriorate over time.
The best way to freeze ginger is to leave its skin on, put it in a freezer bag, and place it in the freezer. If you want to further protect the root from freezer burn, you could place the ingredient in a freezer-safe container.
When you need to use ginger in a recipe next, all you will have to do is fish the ginger out, grate as much as you need, and put it back.
Peeling frozen ginger is a lot easier, and thawing is not necessary for most recipes, so this is a really simple and effective storage method!
Another way of freezing ginger is to peel it, then mince it up finely. Once the root is minced, spread it out on a tray and place it in the freezer to free through.
You can transfer the frozen ginger into airtight containers or plastic bags and put them back in the freezer.
Doing this means that the flavor of the ginger will last several months before beginning to deteriorate.
Put It In The Refrigerator
Refrigerating ginger is another popular method. All you have to go is cover the root in a paper towel and leave it in the fridge.
If you need to use a chunk, cut some off, then wrap the rest up so that no air touches it. As long as no moisture or air comes into contact with the ginger, it will keep for longer.
Placing the ginger in a sealable bag would also be beneficial, as this would help keep air away from it.
Final Thoughts On Ginger
Ginger is great. It’s delicious, healthy, and can be used in just about anything. Storing it is super easy, too. If you have ginger and didn’t know how to store it properly, hopefully this helped!
While all these methods work, depending on when you intend to use your ginger, and what you want to use it for, some methods might be better for you than others.