How To Store Ginger Root

Ginger root is truly a cherished gift of God. It tastes absolutely heavenly when brewed in tea or when cooked with chicken. It is, indeed, a magic spice and has added a lot of variety to our meals. The ginger root is a rhizome of the perennial Zingiber plant. Originally discovered by the Southeast Asian, West African and Caribbean inhabitants, the use of ginger root in various dishes and desserts is constantly gaining popularity. Ginger is an integral ingredient in baking much-loved cookies and is also used as a medicinal herb for curing throat pain and suppressing nauseas as well as heartburn. Due to the exceptionally strong flavor of a ginger root, we conventionally utilize a small portion of the rhizome for cooking and store the remainder for future utilization (to avoid the drastically pungent smell). Hence, the biggest question weighing over many heads in the kitchen is what is the most rational way to store a used ginger root? Follow this article and learn a few good ginger root storage tips.

 

A very common mistake people often make is directly placing a fresh ginger root inside a refrigerator? Though you might argue that this is the way you store fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator, so why not the ginger? You will be surprised to learn that refrigeration is the root cause concerning the loss of flavor in the ginger. However, this can easily be salvaged if you wrap the ginger root in aluminum foil soon after taking out the chunk you intend on using. Enclose every atom of the root and then feel free to toss it into the refrigerator. You could also wrap the ginger root in a towel, place it in a sealed plastic bag and keep it fresh by gently placing it in the refrigerator. A ginger root when wrapped can last up to three months, if kept inside the freezer. 

 

Another method of storing the ginger root is by simply drying it. First, you need to grate it into little silvers, using a ceramic grater. Later, set the shaved ginger to dry on cookie sheet for three to four days. Ensure that the surroundings (cellar or storage room) are cool and dry. Once the root has dried completely, place it inside an air tight jar or plastic container and relax. Ginger root stored this way can last for even a year!

If you want to store ginger for a short duration, the best thing to do is to store it at room temperature. As it has already been mentioned, the refrigerator dries out the flavor that pleases our palates to the highest degree. Hence, it is more advisable that you take the remainder and wrap it in aluminum foil, fold both ends of this foil and seal it completely. Leave the ginger root in the kitchen itself and it will last for two weeks with authentic flavor.  

 

Many people like to store the ginger root extract. This extract can be prevented from decay by adding some preservatives to it! However, you may think what is the point of storing the extract when the aforementioned storage tips are so much more convenient? In this case, there is an added advantage to storing the ginger root. Why not make a lovely ginger pickle? If you often use ginger puree in your delicacies, you can always avail a frozen ginger puree! Or else, you could place the root in a sterile bottle of vinegar and keep it immersed in the liquid for around three weeks as the bottle lies idle in the refrigerator.