I’m starting a new series of blog post this week. I want to focus on the various ingredients that will be included in some of my hampers, and ideas for using the ingredients in future dishes. Ground ginger is a component of the Morrocan Tagine Recipe. Preserved ginger is a component of the Gluhwein recipe that I shared last week. This is a spice that is used in a wide variety of cuisines and in many different forms. I will discuss some options that you can use to incorporate each of the types of ginger product into your cooking of every day items.
First we need to differentiate between spices and herbs. According to Wikipedia:
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance primarily used for flavouring, colouring or preserving food. Sometimes a spice is used to hide other flavors.
A herb is derived from leafy green plants and is used for flavouring or garnishing.
It is possible to have both herbs and spices come from the same plant. Coriander is exactly one of these plants. The fresh leaves are used in numerous cuisines as a herb – Mexican, Middle Eastern, Asian. Called amongst other things Fresh Coriander, Dhania or Cilantro. The seeds are dried and are called Coriander almost everywhere that they are used. They are a common ingredient in curry spice mixes and in traditional sausages. Biltong and boerewors would not taste how they do without coriander seeds. The root is stronger tasting than the leaves and is used most often in Thai curry pastes. A plant that can truly be utilised in full.
Now onto Ginger. One of my favourite spices as it is so versatile. It can lift a savoury dish and add a level of flavour all it’s own, it can create the warmth and heat in an Asian dish, it is the comforting spice for my favourite cookies, it balances the flavours of sushi, and it helps calm a queasy stomach!
Fresh ginger is used in many cuisines. It has a hot and spicy flavour. I love using it on Beef Roasts, as it adds a delicious heat to the meat, and definitely mellows when it is cooked slowly. In Asian cuisines it is used mainly in seafood dishes and stronger meats such as goat. It is wonderful in stir fries. Fresh ginger can be sliced and steeped in boiling water to make ginger tea and is really good for chest problems as well as queasy stomachs. It is best sweetened with honey, and often orange or lemon is added to the tea. Fresh ginger is also used for making ginger beer and ginger wine.
Ground dry ginger is used mostly in baking. You can substitute fresh ginger for dry at a ratio of 6 to 1. The flavours are quite different though. Dry ground ginger can be kept in the spice cupboard for up to 2 years, and should retain a pungent scent. It is wonderful to add to glazed carrots; any stewed apple desserts such as pies, crumbles, baked apples; use it to spice up baked sweet potato, butternut, pumpkin. Ginger mixes well with nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamon.
Pickled Ginger is used most often in Japanese cuisine, and is the usual accompaniment to sushi. It has a milder ginger flavour, but retains the heat of the root. This is thought of as a palate cleanser between bites. It is a great accompaniment to any fish, and can be used to garnish grilled fish steaks, usually with other Asian flavours like soy and wasabi. It can be used in salads to add a new flavour as well as to pork and poultry dishes.
The medicinal uses for ginger throughout the world are extensive. The most common use is for nausea and queasy stomachs. I know that when I went for my first dives, I was advised to bring a pack of ginger cookies to help settle my stomach. They worked at first, until I swallowed some sea water (I was a first timer) and that was not a good combination! Fresh ginger is recommended by a few cook books for assisting with reflux and settling the stomach. In India ginger paste is applied to the temples to relieve a head ache. There are many more folk remedies using ginger for circulation, treating colds & flu, coughing and inflammation. These are not as widely believed to work as the ability to settle the stomach. Ginger tea is recommended in the US as an aid for morning sickness.
When purchasing a My Recipe Hampers hamper that contains a bottle of ground ginger. You will now have a variety of uses for that ginger. These suggestions will be included in the hamper so that you will have ideas of what to use it for going forward.
Here is my favourite Ginger cookie recipe, from here. My husband is the baker in our house, and he makes these regularly. They are phenomenal!
Ginger Snaps
★★★★★
Prep Time: 30 min |
Cook Time: 15 min |
Makes: about 4 dozen cookies |
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
- 270 grams all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 200 grams dark brown sugar
- 140 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 85 grams molasses, by weight
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
- 115 grams finely chopped candied ginger
- Sanding sugar, for sprinkling, optional
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 180 C
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cardamom, clove and salt.
Place the brown sugar and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the molasses, egg and fresh ginger and beat on medium for 1 minute. Add the crystallized ginger and using a rubber spatula, stir to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until well combined.
With a 2-teaspoon-sized scoop, drop the dough onto a parchment-lined half sheet pan approximately 5cm apart. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 12 minutes for slightly chewy cookies or 15 minutes for more crisp cookies. Rotate the pan halfway through cooking.
Remove from the oven, sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired, and allow the cookies to stay on the sheet pan for 30 seconds before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with all of the dough. Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days. If desired, you may scoop and freeze the cookie dough on a sheet pan and once frozen, place in a resealable bag to store. Bake directly from the freezer as above.
Enjoy and order a recipe hamper today!
My Recipe Hampers 