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.

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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.