Dried ginger: how to properly dry ginger at home

AnyutaN — Dec 10th, 2016 Category: Dried roots

Tags: Dried ginger

Fresh ginger root can be found in the store at any time of the year, but from time to time the price for it begins to “bite”, so a favorable offer awakens the desire to buy more of this root vegetable. The problem arises when, literally, after a week or two, the purchased product, stored in the refrigerator, begins to deteriorate. What to do? There is a solution: you can dry the ginger! We’ll talk about how to do this correctly today in this article.

Ingredients: water, ginger, sugar Time to add: All year

Before we move on to drying, let's look at the types of ginger roots. It comes in black and white. The difference is not in the type of plant, but in the way it is processed after digging it out of the ground. Ginger is harvested when the green part of the plant turns yellow and the leaves begin to fall off.

The dug up root is washed in water and dried for some time in the sun. This ginger is called “black”. It has a burning taste and a bright rich aroma. At home, you can only make the “black” root.

To prepare “white” ginger, by the way, this is what can be found on the shelves of our stores, it is washed, doused with boiling water, and then soaked for several hours in a weak solution of hydrocyanic acid or bleach. Therefore, when purchasing ginger root in the store, do not forget to rinse it thoroughly before use.

Which root is suitable for drying?

Store-bought ground ginger is inferior in quality to fresh. It is better to buy fresh roots. For preparations, you need to take them from the first harvest and immediately process them. If you buy roots in a store, they should be:

• from 2 cm long (the larger they are, the higher the concentration of essential oils and nutrients);
• dry, dense and elastic to the touch;
• with smooth light golden skin;
• no mold, stains, cracks, scratches;
• with yellowish-whitish flesh, with a minimum of fiber.

The old root is not suitable for harvesting and storage. This root vegetable is wrinkled, with a darkened skin and yellow fibrous pulp. Dried by overuse, first soaked. When added to drinks or tea in dry form, you need to take into account that it turns out spicier than fresh.

Can there be harm from using it?

Ginger is not a panacea for all diseases.
Like all products, dried root has not only beneficial properties, but also contraindications. You shouldn't abuse it. In unlimited quantities, dried ginger can bring you not so much benefit as harm. An overdose may have unpleasant consequences for your health. For example, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, allergic rashes. It is enough to stop taking ground ginger.

Excessive consumption of it causes heartburn in some people. In this case, it is recommended to add it to food or drink tea with ground ginger immediately after it.

About peeling and shelf life

Most of the valuable components are located directly under the peel. But if it is light and thin, you don’t have to clean it. Or remove with a metal sponge, vegetable peeler, or scrape with the edge of a spoon. If the peel is thick, you need to cut it off with a knife, along with the side shoots. Fresh root can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks, wrapped in a damp cloth.

Preparations for future use are made immediately. You need to cut ginger on a plastic board; a wooden board will preserve its aroma for a long time. Dried must be stored in a cool, dark place. It retains its beneficial qualities for 2-4 months. It should be kept in a glass jar with a loose lid, but not in cellophane. Otherwise, it will begin to rot and become moldy. It should not be stored near dairy or strong-smelling products to avoid a combination of odors.

Contraindications

Ground ginger has a number of contraindications. You should exclude it if you have:

• late pregnancy;
• breast-feeding;
• allergy;
• cholelithiasis;
• cirrhosis of the liver;
• elevated temperature;
• exacerbation of chronic diseases.

If you take medications for arrhythmia, drugs to lower blood pressure and blood sugar, then give up ginger or consult a doctor.

Natural drying

The easiest method for preparing ginger root for tea is natural drying at home. But it takes a long time. The root must be washed, peeled, cut into thin slices or grated. Place on a tray, having previously covered it with a cloth or cooking paper.

Place in a dry room or on the balcony. They must be well ventilated. But so that the sun does not fall on the ginger. To ensure that it dries evenly, it is stirred several times a day until the pieces of the root vegetable become hard and brittle. Drying whole will take much longer. In a private home, you can cut ginger into circles, string them on a thread and hang them next to the stove.

In 2-3 days it will be ready. If ginger is made in the form of tea leaves, it must be peeled and crushed in a mortar or blender. To prepare tea, mix two tablespoons of crushed root and tea leaves, pour 400 ml of boiling water over them. Let it brew for 30 minutes.

Vegetable dehydrator or air fryer

This is the easiest way to prepare ginger for storage. Even large pieces dry well in an electric vegetable dryer, so you don’t have to spend a lot of time cutting the roots. However, you need to monitor the size of the slices: household devices are not designed for drying whole ginger. If you need to prepare the entire root for storage, you need to remove the extra trays and do the procedure itself in several stages. Trying to cook ginger all at once may cause the dryer to overheat and become inoperable.

For this procedure, even the thin skin must be removed: when it dries, it can crack and clog the openings for heat. Also, do not cover trays with baking paper. It will interfere with air circulation, which can cause the dryer to break down. You can cut the ginger into small cubes or thin slices. The optimal thickness is 4 mm. Set the temperature to 60° degrees. It will take 6-9 hours to dry completely.

You can also prepare ginger for storage using an electric grill. It will dry much faster. At a temperature of 70°, thin plates will be ready in 2 hours. To do this, the airflow must be turned on at full power. Otherwise, the cooking time will be 5-6 hours. If done correctly, the slices should break easily. You cannot overexpose them, otherwise it will be impossible to soak them or endure them.

Attention!

Do not leave the dryer running overnight. Overheating may cause a fire.

In the oven

To prepare the root in the oven, wash it, peel it, and cut it into slices. The baking sheet is lined with culinary parchment. Lay out the pieces at a distance from each other. Preheat the oven to 50 degrees. Place a baking sheet in it for one hour. The door should be kept slightly open. After an hour, turn the ginger over and put it in the oven for another hour.

If you grate it, the drying time is halved, but it needs to be stirred every 15 minutes. The finished circles do not bend, but break. If the pieces are gray at the break point, the root is ready, if not, keep it in the oven for another 15-20 minutes. After drying, the ginger should cool. Then pour it into a container, close the lid and store it in a dry, dark place.

How to make ground powder

Ginger ground into powder can be added not only to tea, but also to any dish. First it is dried in any convenient way. Then grind it in a blender twice. If there are no kitchen utensils, then grind it into powder with a pestle, but this takes a long time. Then sift through a sieve. The remaining large pieces are ground again.

The finished ground plant is sold in Ashanti stores. It is used as an additive to tea, coffee, seasoning for dishes, for preparing marinades and kebabs.

Ground ginger powder East End | East End 100g

Article: 003123

Manufacturer: East End

Country: UK

259 rub.

In stockBuy

Beneficial features

Dried ginger is a concentrate of useful biologically active components. That is why it is consumed in limited quantities. The maximum daily dose is a teaspoon in ground form. It is in this form that it is used by those who want to lose weight. It is believed that the spice speeds up metabolism and partially prevents lipids from being absorbed in the intestines while transiting through the digestive tract.

In addition, the spice will help cope with poisoning and improve the intestinal microflora. In general, regular consumption of ginger improves appetite and stimulates the production of digestive enzymes, increasing the quality and speed of digestive processes. It can act as a mild pain reliever, a source of vitamins, micro- and macroelements, chlorogenic acid, antioxidants and phytoncides. Ground ginger has the following effects on the body:

• relieves inflammation;
• kills pathogens;
• reduces pain during PMS;
• stimulates the production of bile and some hormones;
• increases libido and sexual desire in men and women;
• strengthens the immune system.

One of the most popular uses of the spice is adding it to tea. This is a miracle remedy that quickly warms you up, helps you cope with the first signs of a cold and promotes weight loss. Next on the list of uses is adding it to meat dishes, soups and dough for cookies and pies.

Drying ginger at home is very simple, easy and cheap, because the finished spice in the store is much more expensive, and its production time may not always coincide with the real one. That's why you need to stock up on this valuable product yourself and for health benefits.

Freezing

The unpeeled ginger root is wrapped in a bag and put in the freezer. When you need to brew tea with it, cut off the required amount from the root and add to the tea leaves. It's easier to use chopped ginger. The root is washed, peeled, finely grated or crushed in a blender.

Transfer to a freezer bag and level to form a thin layer. The workpiece is placed in the freezer, if necessary, a small piece is broken off and added directly to a cup of tea. Or freeze ginger juice in special forms.

Candied root

Candied is used not only as an additive to tea leaves. It is at the same time a decoration for dishes, a dessert, and an ingredient for baking. It is prepared in stages:

1. The root is washed and peeled. Slice thinly - 2 mm thick. Pour boiling water over it (so that it completely hides the pieces) and leave for 2 hours. This can remove the bitterness from the ginger.
2. Drain the liquid, rinse the pieces and pour syrup. For it, take water and granulated sugar in equal proportions.
3. Cook the ginger over low heat until it becomes soft and the syrup thickens.
4. The pieces are poured into a colander and excess liquid is allowed to drain. Then roll each one in sugar and place one at a time on a baking sheet covered with parchment.
5. Preheat the oven to 70 degrees. Place the baking sheet in it for half an hour. Then they are allowed to cool and packaged in bags. The candied pieces are very tasty and replace candy. They can be placed in a vase and stored at room temperature.

Ginger juice can be added to tea, seasoned with salads, first and second courses.

In Ashanti stores you can buy various products with ready-made ginger root. It is included in balms, sweets, toothpaste, anti-cellulite cream. If you prepare ginger for future use yourself, you can add it not only to tea, but also to other dishes and skin care products.

Why dry ginger?

In Europe, the use of oriental spices began several decades ago. In the homeland of ginger - India - and other Asian countries, it has been grown for several centuries and is widely used as a seasoning, ingredient and medicine. This product began to conquer Europeans in ground form, so the question arises: how to dry ginger and how does it differ from the fresh root?

Today you can easily buy both ground and fresh root. They have almost identical composition, but slightly different properties. So, fresh is more aromatic, less hot, and dried is more pungent and spicy. When preparing soups and salads, fresh ginger is often used, and ground ginger is used for stewing meat and baking.

Why dry ginger at home? First of all, in order to be confident in the high quality and safety of this product. All stages of drying will be clearly controlled by your own eye, and this is the best quality control department. Secondly, the output is a fresh and aromatic spice without impurities or additives, which will be stored for a long time.

Being confident that any product is natural and safe is a big deal, especially if it is used for medical purposes or consumed by children. Homemade dried ginger can be safely added to food, face and hair masks, made into drinks, tinctures and even cough drops that even small children will love.

Getting aromatic spice is the main reason to dry ginger