Learning to how peel and cut fresh ginger is a skill for anyone who enjoys cooking. Fresh ginger adds a robust, aromatic kick to savory and sweet dishes.
If you ever cooked with fresh ginger, you know it opens up a world of flavors and aromas. Fresh ginger has also some health benefits, due to the presence of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.
Key Utensils For Peeling and Cutting Fresh Ginger
- Cutting board
- Small spoon
- Knife
- Grater
Don’t let this funny looking thing that’s called ginger, hold you back in your cooking endeavors. Read on for simple guidance on how to peel and cut ginger in a number of ways.
How to Peel Fresh Ginger
Ginger root has a very uneven shape, so peeling it as if you peel vegetables may not be that simple. Furthermore, using a vegetable peeler or knife my cut off more ginger flesh than you like. Using a small spoon however is the perfect solution to reach all the nooks and crannies, while only peeling away the skin and not the flesh.
After washing and drying the ginger, hold one side firmly and use the edge of a spoon to scrap the papery brown skin away from the yellow core.
How to Cut Fresh Ginger
Julienne or matchstick cut.
After you peel the ginger, slice it in 1/8-inch thick coins. Stack the coins and cut into matchsticks, around 1/8-inch thick.
Chopped or minced ginger.
Cut the matchsticks into tiny cubes, 1/8-inch thick or cut them even smaller, until you have a semi-solid mixture.
Grate ginger.
The easiest way to do this is with a microplane or a handheld grater or a the small holes of a box grater. Grate across the grain of the fibers (ginger fibers run from top to bottom of the root).
Smash ginger.
Cut of a piece of the ginger root. Place it on you cutting board. Lay the blade of the knife over the piece of ginger while holding the knife handle. With the heel of your other hand whack the knife blade against the ginger and it will split.
Use this method when you want to flavor oil or brew tea. You can also use slices of ginger.
Additional Tips
- Buying fresh ginger. Select the knobs/roots that are firm and moist and feel ‘heavy for its size’. Buying a large ginger root may be a waste of money, especially when you cook for a household of two, thus breaking off what you need is your best bet; ginger root is sold by weight, not by piece count. A dry end, where the root was cut or broken off, is fine; it’s the root sealing itself off.
- Storing ginger. Ginger can be kept in a cool dark place at room temperature for a couple of days. Wrap ginger in paper towels and then in plastic wrap and you can keep it in the crisper drawer of your fridge for a few weeks. Wrap is in plastic wrap and a Ziploc bag and the ginger can be kept for a couple of months in the freezer. You can choose to peel the ginger prior to freezing or leave the peel on and if you have a large knob of ginger, cut/break it into smaller pieces before you freeze it.
You can also freeze chopped or minced ginger in ice cubes and keep them in freezer-safe bags. - Dried out or old ginger. When you discover a piece of ginger in your pantry or fridge that looks a little sad, it may still have a viable core. Cut off what you need and inspect the flesh; it if is still relatively firm and moist you can still use it, but peeling it with a spoon will not be as easy as a fresh piece. The skin you need to peel off is thicker. Using a small knife or a vegetable peeler may be your easiest solution.
No Comments