Vitamix smoothies with Ginger hair nests!

[GypsiAnsara]

So am I doing this wrong or does the vitamix not chop up the ginger hairs? It's like a big drain clog in my smoothies!!!! I love ginger and usually throw a whole knob of it in there. Any suggestions?
I don't have a juicer, and am hoping I can get around grating it first... hoping...

[spicyfull]

Although I peel My Ginger...I have Never had that problem.

[EZ rider]

I'm not sure what you mean by "hairs" ? I don't recall seeing any hairs on my ginger root.

[justinesmith]

I know exactly what you mean. You may have to grate it first.... I've yet to figure out how to get rid of those suckers!

[GypsiAnsara]

Maybe "threads" is a nicer word? Inside the ginger roots are long tough threads. Today I sliced my ginger root in 1/8" rounds cutting through them, then blended in water, strained, and used that juice. I think I could probably deal with the hairs/threads better in my smoothie using that technique and not going through the process of straining. I was kind of bummed though, because I thought the Vitamix was supposed to break up everything, and these definitely remain intact.

[EZ rider]

I was kind of bummed though, because I thought the Vitamix was supposed to break up everything, and these definitely remain intact.That is surprising because I have found my vitaix to "pulverize" everything I put in it. I have an old vitamix that I bought new about 1985 and it has the square stainless steel can on top with the flat sided "bats" for blades and when it's on it smashes the produce like a baseball bat hitting a homerun but the produce immediately run into one of the square sides in a "splat" then it rebounds back out into the path of the next bat and repeats until smooth. I'm not sure if the new vita mix still uses that technology or not ? Anyway the "hairs/threads/strands" must be some really stringy fiber I guess. Good luck and I hope you find a way to solve the problem.

[kaybee]

maybe try buying younger, thinner, ginger; has less "strings"

[Gittel]

Do you have an oriental market near you? I have found young ginger there. It has a smooth, creamy-colored skin, not the rough brown skin. And the flavor is great!

Gittel

[GypsiAnsara]

I will try the young ginger - thinking about it, I think I've seen it with the Asian vegetables... thanks for the tips!

[Lady Green Jeans]

Galanga is I believe the young ginger. Asian market by me has it--little pricy but nice flavor/texture. I enjoy ginger so don't mind the theads as I gain so much more than that little inconvenience. Bought a ginger grater shaped like a fish and it works really well, but really don't use it that often. The threads in mature ginger must be tough stuff, cause I know Vitamix can pulverize an eggshell (demo at the fair).

Hope the young ginger works better for the "no string" issue.

[Tirza]

I always scrape off the outer skin and then slice it thinly to avoid this.

I make a soup with celery and find that if I don't slice the stalks into about 1/2" slices, I might find a lot of pulp in there too. I guess you could run it through two cycles. To make soup you do that anyway just to get it warm.