Preparation tip - Ginger

[SamuelWilson]

I have a little tip I would like to share with you regarding ginger, it is mostly common sense, but one that may help some of you. When a recipe calls for ginger, instead of peeling and grating the ginger, you should fine chop it and just blend it with your recipe. Even if you plan on tossing it in a miniature food processor to blend the ginger before you add it to your recipe, you should still fine chop it first. This will prevent the "ginger strands".

I noticed when I was at the local health food cafe, that I saw ginger root strands in some of the recipes. It made me more aware of my own recipes. So the last time I made Alissa's Vinaigrette which calls for 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, I finely diced it. I then blended it with the other ingredients in the blender. It had a fresh ginger taste with out the strands. If you just toss a piece of ginger in the blender, it will get blended, but unless you dice it first, it will leave behind the signature ginger strands.

I may be splitting hairs here, but it was just a little something I learned that I thought I would pass along.

[Sharon in Colorado]

Samuel Wilson that microplane grater you bought for the lime zest is perfect as a ginger grater and won't leave strands. I use a microplane for my ginger.

[jenna rose]

Hm? It doesn't need to be peeled?

[SamuelWilson]

Samuel Wilson that microplane grater you bought for the lime zest is perfect as a ginger grater and won't leave strands. I use a microplane for my ginger.

Sharon in Colorado, I never thought about that, but I don't have mine yet. Still waiting to receive it.


Hm? It doesn't need to be peeled?

Peeling it is a personal choice. If it is going in a vinaigrette dressing, then for cosmetic reasons, you should peel it first. But if it is going in lets say, a carrot soup, then I would just finely dice it and then blend it with the recipe.

[greywolf]

a short word or two about the microplane and ginger...

be prepaired for what i refer to as "ginger-mush" when using the microplane. now don't get me wrong, the microplane is one of the best things out there, it will however pretty much pulp the ginger.

i pretty much prefer the "small chunks" in the food processor - cut across the grain to cut the threads short enough not to matter.

and as for peeling - depends on what i am making.

OK - so more than "a word or two"...

heh

[rawcanadagirl]

Yes - I really dislike chunks or strands of ginger in my food.
I have found that "juicing" ginger in a garlic press works really well - You get great ginger flavour without the woody pulp.
Just my personal preference!
RGC :D

[ReneeSC]

Talk to me about the Micro Plane. I assume it's something like a small mandolin?

[edie]

I juice my ginger too. I am interested in the Micro Plane too what is it? :confused: Edie

[jenna rose]

I think this is it: http://www.microplane.com/kitchen.shtml

Looks interesting.

[ReneeSC]

OHHHHHHHHHHHH... like a rasper.. K. Thanks!! The references to "pulp" now make sense.

[SamuelWilson]

Ok, I just tried out the "microplane zester" and it reduces ginger into a pulp without strands or chunks. This will be great for recipes in which you want ginger flavor and you also would like some texture without strands.

I think for things like raw drinks, I would just juice the ginger to get only the ginger flavor with no pulp. One bit of advice on juicing ginger, the juice/root ratio is not that great (meaning it takes a good size piece of root to get a Tablespoon of juice).

Here is a picture of my new zester. On the wooden spoon is a teaspoon of fresh zested ginger.

[ReneeSC]

Ahhh, thank you, Samuel!

I love new raw toys. I've started LOVING ginger. It's one of my raw switch foods. On SAD.. I could barely tolerate ginger, or many Indian things with ginger in it. Now? I could eat the root. :)

Neat.. neat!

[rawrev]

I have had one for some time, and I really like it.
It's great for zesting citrus too. Ginger (including skin) is almost like a
powder, if dry to start, if frozen it can be a little mushy. :)