Simple Uses for Ginger

 

When you have a large crop of ginger from the garden or farmstand, you don't have time to casually include it in complicated recipes or to frantically figure out how to use it up before it goes bad without getting sick of it.  You want to make the most of your harvest and to actually enjoy it.

Here at Plant to Plate, we like to keep things simple!  Here are some of my favorite ways to use or preserve ginger:

• Steam it with potatoes or sweet potatoes.

• Steam it with cauliflower or broccoli.

• Sauté it with poblanos and tulsi.

• Sauté it with tatsoi.  Drizzle with sesame oil after cooking, or cook it in sesame oil directly.

• Sauté it with other leafy greens such as mizuna, kale, or shiso along with garlic.

• Sauté it with eggplant and orach.

• Sauté it with eggplant, jalapeños, and onions.

• Sauté or stirfry it with bok choy.  Add chicken, duck, or beef if desired.

• Sauté or stirfry it with bok choy and mushrooms.  Add chicken or duck if desired.

• Stirfry it with cabbage and garlic.

• Bake it with tatsoi and salmon or halibut.

• Bake it with garlic and chicken or turkey.

• Bake it with garlic and beef or pork.

• Add it to egg dishes like omelets and quiches.

• Make a simple soup.  A few ideas for simple soup combinations with ginger are as follows:
• Carrots and turmeric
• Carrots and hazelnuts
• Carrots, beets, and onions or other alliums
• Potatoes and garlic
• Winter squash and coconut milk.  This one is best as a blended soup.

• Add it to other soups and broths.  Learn how to make a basic soup here.

• Add it to a hot cereal with a base like oats, rice, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, or sorghum.  See our Interesting Hot Cereal article here for more information.  Ginger can be added to hot grains while they are cooking.

• Toss it with sorghum, potatoes, and bell peppers.

• Toss it with amaranth, carrots, and roasted beets.

• Toss it with turkey, pecans, and maple syrup.

• Use it as Decor of an Interesting Salad.  (Wondering why I capitalized those letters?  Read more about Interesting Salads here!)  Raw, sautéed, or candied ginger can be added as toppings in an Interesting Salad.

• Make a Simple Salad.  A few ideas for Simple Salad pairings with ginger are as follows:
• Lettuce and cucumbers
• Lettuce and chicken
• Arugula and bell peppers
• Chicory and a creamy dressing

• Add it to other salads.

• Make infused vinegar.  Ginger-infused vinegar makes a fantastic salad dressing, among other uses.  Ginger can be infused in vinegar on its own or in combination with lemongrass or coriander.

• Make infused oil.  Ginger-infused oil can be used as a salad dressing or drizzle.  It can also be further processed into lotions, balms, and more.

• Make a syrup.  Ginger syrup is a fantastic addition to coffee, tea, hot cereals, and hot chocolate.  Check out our article on how to make an herbal syrup here.

• Make herbal honey.  An herbal honey is a delicious way to preserve the herbal properties of your ginger, extend its shelf life, and get benefits of honey as well.

• Make herbal candies with ginger and sugar or honey.

• Make a tea.  Ginger tea is best prepared as an decoction.

• Add it to a tea blend.  A few ideas for decoction blends with ginger are as follows:
• Echinacea, white pine inner bark, astragalus, and eleuthero
• Camellia sinensis teas such as black, green, or white tea
• Chamomile
• Peppermint
• Catmint
• Black tea and cloves
• Carrots.  Yes, carrots can be decocted into tea.  See our Simple Uses for Carrots article here for more information.

• Make a tincture.  The suggested herb:solvent ratio for a ginger root tincture is 1:5 in 60% alcohol for dried ginger and 1:2 in 60% alcohol for fresh ginger.  Learn more about tinctures here.

• Add it to pickles.  Ginger can be added to many traditional pickling and quick-pickling combinations.  A few pickling complements to ginger are bell peppers, carrots, tomatillos, parsnips, cucumbers, and bok choy.

• Add it to a jam or jelly.  Ginger pairs particularly nicely with plums or blackberries in these.  Jams and jellies can then be canned or frozen.

• Dice and freeze it to save it for later.  Learn more about freezing your produce here.

• Dry or dehydrate it as another preservation method.

Further Reading

Growing ginger?  Check out these quick facts like its best growing conditions, companion plants, and expected yields.

Ginger is also featured in these articles:

• Quick Facts: Growing Ginger
• Soups 101: The Basic Process for Making Soup
• The Interesting Hot Cereal: How to Make Your Hot Grains More Fun
• Using Mints in Culinary and Herbal Preparations
• How to Preserve Your Harvest - Method 2: Herbal Preparations

Get your free garden planner!

Get the Plan Ahead! Printable Garden Planner (normally $10) absolutely FREE with email signup. You'll also get our latest content and updates sent directly to your inbox for FREE. Plan your next garden better!

We respect your privacy. We won't sell your data or send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.