How to Preserve Ginger

For those who live upcountry and don’t have regular access to ginger, this is a great way to preserve and store ginger. The rest of us can use this method to speed up meal prep by making ginger ready to use.

We use ginger all the time in curries, peanut satay, smoothies, African tea, and fried rice. I got tired of peeling ginger each time I wanted to use it so I looked for an alternative. The best option appeared to be storing the ginger in alcohol and I have had great results with this method. Be sure that your ginger is always completely covered by alcohol, as this is what preserves it and the ginger will dry out if exposed to the air.

Preserving ginger really isn’t worthwhile with small, withered ginger so wait until you have good ginger available.

Start with fresh, plump ginger. Fresh ginger usually has a thin, soft skin that can be easily peeled or even scraped away. This reduces the amount of time you spend peeling the ginger and minimizes loss as you peel. Using big, plump ginger also means that you get more bang for your buck. I filled a whole jar of ginger using three big pieces in about 10 minutes.

Cost – Benefit

Prep time: 10 minutes

Yields lots of ginger for future meals

Ingredients

Fresh, plump ginger

Alcohol (I use vodka)

Directions

Peel the ginger. Cut it into chunks that are the right size for your recipes, which is often about one inch (2.5 cm). Cover ginger with alcohol and store in the refrigerator for up to three months.

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