We have some fresh ginger root. We want to freeze it if there's a way, but any suggestions about preserving it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

-- Cathy Zeiler (trinityhealth@nativestar.net), September 25, 2001

Answers

Good question, sorry I do not have answer. Perhaps some expert knows how that fast food chain the beef bowl prepares their ginger. It taste great. It is red like they used beats but I do not think that is it. Maybe they soak it in red wine vinegar.

-- ed (edfrhes@aol.com), September 25, 2001.

Kathy- Somewhere I heard/read/dreamt that you can persearve gingerroot and/or garlic in oil or vodka in glass jars-I believe these were kept in the refrigarator(Vodka has no taste.) I actually asked the produce guy at Kroger's about this-he thought I was nuts.

-- Kelly (markelly@scrtc.com), September 26, 2001.

The Japanese pickle thin slices in rice wine vinegar w/ a leaf of red shiso/perilla to give it a pink tint. To avoid the vinegar twang, you can grate fresh ginger oven dry it ~200 deg. then place it in air tight jars. Give it a turn in the mortar & pestle if you want a nearly powdered product. For a fancy preserve, ginger is very tasty candied or made into marmalade. If you have a sunny window, don't tend to over water plants, & your house does not go below ~50 deg. you can also grow it as a houseplant, the young shoots are a real treat. I must admit I never thought of freezing it!:o

-- bj pepper in C. MS. (pepper.pepper@excite.com), September 26, 2001.

Ginger shoots? Never heard of that - what do they taste like and how do you use them? The flower smells absolutely wonderful, though, I know that.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), September 26, 2001.

You can also candy the slices in a sugar syrup, and then roll the slices in granulated sugar, or dip them in dark chocolate. Yum!

Boil the sliced ginger in water a while and then mix in lemon jucice and some sugar for a refreshing drink.

The green shoots you can snip and use just as you would chives.

Lucky you!!!

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), September 26, 2001.

Euell Gibbons' book "Stalking the Wild Asparagus" indicates that wild ginger root can also be dried.

-- Sarah K. (ladynuala@hotmail.com), September 26, 2001.

Thanks for some wonderful answers. We're going to try to grow some of them, but we'll have to put them in pots because I think giger is a tropical plant. Wish us luck!

-- Cathy Zeiler (trinityhealth@nativestar.net), September 26, 2001.

I buy large pieces of ginger root, wrap it in Saran Wrap and put it in the freezer. When I need some, I just unwrap one end and grate off the amount oginger I need, rewrap it and put it back in the freezer.

-- Duffy (hazelm@tenforward.com), September 26, 2001.

I've had a ginger plant growing for several years. I started it from a root I bought in the grocery store. It goes dormant in the winter, but I keep it in the greenhouse or in any warm house. I've preserved the root by cleaning it well and putting it in a jar of sherry in the refrigerator. I had some in there for at least a year, and it kept fine.

-- Katherine in KY (KyKatherine@Yahoo.com), September 26, 2001.

hey there soni, You use ginger shoots any way you use ginger. The shoots/plants resemble corn plants, but the young fresh shoots' leaves have not unfurled and there is a lot of pink & white tints and very little fiber. The aroma on the shoots is almost as good as the ginger flower! I've not had potted ginger bloom before tho, just the hardy types in the flower beds.

-- bj pepper in C. MS. (pepper.pepper@excite.com), September 28, 2001.