[shawtycat]

The only thing we use it for in Barbados is to boil it for tea or make Ginger Beer. What else can I use ginger root for? I feel really bad having it sit there in the fridge until it's tea time.

I read a chinese recipe where they asked for minced ginger. My ginger never softens to a digestable mush when I boil it for tea so how can you eat it? It just doesn't seem like it would work. Im gonna do some more searches on google maybe Ill come across some streaming video of cooking with ginger.

Jodi

 

[kokopuffs]

It's used in stir fry; for warmth; and, as a digestif.

 

[alexia]

Candy it and chop it up to use in biscotti and other sweets, nibble on it. Or just buy it candied.

It's good in marinades (soy, garlic, grated ginger, & dried mustard) for pork, chicken, etc.

 

[shawtycat]

Lucky me! Ive been defrosting some pork chops!

Thanks.

 

[alexia]

Also add a few drops or spoonful of oil, particularly with pork chops which tend to be dry.

 

[mudbug]

ShawtyCat,

There are thousands of recipes which utilize ginger which can be used in savory and sweet dishes. You can use it in just about anything you can think of, drinks, soups, cookies, cakes, pastas, breads, salads, salsas, dressings, marinades, candied, pickled, etc.

Browse here for ideas.

You can also put it in some slightly damp soil and it will stay fresh and maybe even grow for you.

You may find insight at the following sites as well:

Ginger - Origin, Uses and recipes


All About Ginger

Basics of Ginger

 

[shawtycat]

WOW! Cchiu, when you give advice. You GIVE advice! Thanks....the links are wonderful and very full of information. I just browsed through a ton on MSN.com. Thanks.

Can't wait to get started cookin'. :bounce:

Jodi

 

[phatch]

It can store for about a year in a jar of sherry in your fridge.

I freeze mine and when I have to mince some, I just grate it off with my Microplane. The skin tends to flake off at the top and stay out of the grated ginger.

Phil

 

[kimmie]

If you have a juicer, make carrot juice, adding a bit of ginger. You don't even need to peel it.

 

[kimmie]

For longer storage, YOU CAN PLANT IT. Try this method: Fill a small ceramic pot partway with lightly moistened (not too wet) potting soil, place the ginger piece inside, and cover with more soil. Keep the pot in a sunny window and don’t water it too frequently. The ginger will grow fresh knobs and sprouts that can be used in cooking. Whenever a recipe calls for ginger, simply dig it up, break off a piece, and replant the remainder.

 

[shawtycat]

Phil

I wouldn't know where to get or how to pick a good sherry. :blush: Plus Ive got a house full o kiddies and not sure if soaking in alcohol is a good thing.

Kimmie

Ill definately try planting it next time...have to buy some potting soil first.

Thanks guys.

Jodi

PS

Seems nuts not to know how to use ginger considering I own a wok.

 

[chiffonade]

* minced in potsticker mix.

* minced in oriental sauces

* very fine dice (brunoise) of candied ginger in chutneys...I have a hard time making chutney without ginger

We used to get ginger in bulk when we had our little takeout place. It freezes beautifully, unpeeled, in a ziplock bag. I used to nuke it for about 30 seconds to make it sliceable. Run a peeler over the outside if you need to remove the peel. If you just want the juice, nuke it longer then squeeze it into whatever you're making.

This might seem obvious but it wasn't to me when I first heard it...don't ever try to substitute fresh ginger for ground ginger, say in gingerbread. Whole different animal.

 

[marmalady]

Hi, Jodie,

Also want to mention the many medicinal uses for ginger. In the martial arts, we chop up the root and boil with water, then let steep as an infusion. Then soak cloths in it to put on strains/sprains. Takes the swelling down, and also eases the pain.

Ginger root is also wonderful for 'tummy' aches; my grandmother used to give me a glass of ginger ale for upset stomaches.

Also works great when you have a cold, to make 'ginger tea' make an infusion as above, just not quite as strong as for a poultice, then add lemon and honey to taste. Really clears out the old sinuses.

 

[mudbug]

ShawtyCat,

If you have any sand laying around, that will work instead of soil as Kimmie and I suggested to plant your ginger root rhizomeÊand keep it fresh.

Ê

 

[kokopuffs]

Aaahhhhh, Marmalady. What a true afficionado of herbal powers. Ever thought of being a witch?!?!?!?

 

[shawtycat]

Marm,

That's what I said before. We only use it for ginger tea....which we happen to only drink when we have the flu or cold. The men make ginger beer, which is alot stronger than ginger ale. And boy is Ginger Beer HOT! Its mostly used for medicinal purposes. We DON'T cook with it. I wanted to expand my horizons a bit.

 

[marmalady]

Actually, one of my fantasies after my divorce was to move to NC, live in a little cottage by the woods, be the local midwife, and 'granny woman', and sit at the feet of the old Cherokee tribeswomen to learn their herbcraft. Another lifetime, perhaps!

 

[shawtycat]

Ack! You can't steal my fantasy Marm! :lol:

I always wanted to learn from an Indian Medicine Woman or Man. Ive learned alot from my granny.

Like too much Rosemary is actually poisonous.
Using a cut lemon to reduce a fever. You just run it across the persons forehead and torso.
Giving a man cloves to reduce his libido. :lol: Always wondered if that one works.
Putting a slab of camfor in a jar of water and taking a teaspoon per day for cramps. (This stuff really works!) But see your doc first, holistic medicine and all that not approved by the FDA you know.

If you find a Medicine Lady let me know. I wanna tag along.

Jodi

 

[marmalady]

Sure thing, Jodi, I'd love to have you along. There's so much wisdom that's been lost; in food as well as well as herbal and medicinal lore. Every time you have a chance to learn from an elder, it's a precious time and a precious sharing of ancient knowledge.

Never heard the lemon one, or the clove one! Is your grandmother from the Islands, too? I often wonder about regional lore; from my oh, so little knowledge, it's amazing how a remedy will be the same in a country thousands of miles away, with no obvious connections between the two.

I've had the opportunity to talk with two 'granny women'; one, a 104 year old midwife on the barrier islands off Charleston, SC, who had pictures of 'her' babies all over her walls. She spoke the 'Gulluh' dialect (remember the book 'B'rer Rabbit'? - that's what they spoke), so it was hard to understand a lot of what she was saying, but she was so happy to share her wealth, and tell her stories.

I also met with a Cherokee woman on the Cherokee reservation in North Carolina, and spent two days with her; we walked all over the woods, with her showing me plants, and what their uses were, and when the best time to harvest was, and which part of the plant to use. Amazing.

 

[shawtycat]

I think Ive died and gone to heaven! You have to share Marm. Other than antibiotics once for pneumonia, prenatals and multivitamins once in a while.......Ive never taken medicine. Just always used what my granny taught me. If I have a cold I drink lemon tea, if it is really bad then I drink ginger tea but if its the flu I drink circe bush tea.

Most Americans wouldn't know about Circe bush....you can find it in Asian markets. My grandmother was praised by doctors for saving my cousin's life. My cousin drank kerosene and my grandmother made her drink diluted Epson Salts, which caused her to throw up(pumped her stomache). The doctors kept asking...."How did you know to do that?" (Epson Salts is used as a laxative by every Bajan grandma, that and Aloe Vera). And lets not get started on the weekly dose of Castor Oil I had to take as a child. ~Shudder~ We drink Mauby almost everyday "to clarify the blood" granny says. On the horticulture sites that Ive looked at they do say that it lowers blood pressure and does something to the blood. I just can't remember what it is.

So where are the reservations? My ancestors are the Caribe and Arawak Indians (related to the Indians in South America), African witchdoctors and we have many people from all over the world living there. My great-great-grandpa is supposed to be Irish.....but Id have to go to the archives to confirm that. Id love to meet a Medicine Woman or Man.

Does anyone remember hot Mustard Poultices/Plasters? I think they were used to draw out congestion. Maybe we should start a thread for Food as Medicine in History (Repast from the Past forum maybe?). But it might not go over well. Don't want to be touting "holistic" medicine and have someone get sick. It is still like medicine and dosage is everything.

Jodi

PS

I know of the Gullahs! They still use a lot of the folk medicine that we use in the islands too. Ive also read Brer Rabbit and Anansi stories. Maybe her accent isn't far off from many caribbean islands? If I do go to a reservation Id have to stay away from the drums.....I did African dance since I was 3 yrs old and drums do something to me. :blush: