Candied Ginger
My favorite grocery store, Trader Joe's, sold candied ginger last year but decided this year not to carry the product. I searched out a recipe and found Alton Brown had a wonderful recipe on the Food Network website. I thought it would be a fun afternoon project to try the recipe. Mistake #1, not reading the directions thoroughly, I added sugar to the water used to boil and cook the ginger. I dumped that water and sugar and started over. Mistake #2, I thought it not necessary to add 5 cups of water to cook the ginger. I was distracted by my computer and soon smelled smoke. My yield was greatly reduced. The moral of the story: you need all of the water the recipe calls for, so add 5 cups to the one pound of ginger root and watch the boiling pot!
***
Ingredients:
Nonstick spray
1 pound fresh ginger root
5 cups water
Approximately 1 pound granulated sugar
*
Directions:
Spray a cooling rack with nonstick spray and set it in a pan lined with parchment.
*
Peel the ginger root and slice into 1/8-inch thick slices using a mandolin. Place into a 4 quart saucepan with the water and set over medium-high heat. Cover and cook for 35 minutes or until the ginger is tender.
*
Transfer the ginger to a colander to drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.
Weigh the ginger and measure an equal amount of sugar. Return the ginger and 1/4 cup water to the pan and add the sugar.
Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently until the sugar looks dry, has almost evaporated and begins to recrystallize, approximately 20 minutes.
Transfer the ginger immediately to the cooling rack and spread to separate the individual pieces. ( I coat my ginger by putting in a small bowl with a rounded bottom and swirl to coat. Then I put it on a cooling rack.)
Once completely cool, store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. (Very important to make sure the ginger is dry. Otherwise you may experience mold.)
Save the sugar that drops beneath the cooling rack and use to top ginger snaps, sprinkled over ice cream or to sweeten coffee.
Weigh the ginger and measure an equal amount of sugar. Return the ginger and 1/4 cup water to the pan and add the sugar.
Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently until the sugar looks dry, has almost evaporated and begins to recrystallize, approximately 20 minutes.
Transfer the ginger immediately to the cooling rack and spread to separate the individual pieces. ( I coat my ginger by putting in a small bowl with a rounded bottom and swirl to coat. Then I put it on a cooling rack.)
Once completely cool, store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. (Very important to make sure the ginger is dry. Otherwise you may experience mold.)
Save the sugar that drops beneath the cooling rack and use to top ginger snaps, sprinkled over ice cream or to sweeten coffee.
No comments:
Post a Comment