OOOOPS, I DID IT AGAIN! CRYSTALLISED GINGER & TANGERINES

I thought I would never let me heart win over my head again. Have made the same mistake a 1000 times over, but ooops, I did it again! A month ago, while talking to my friend in Kiev, she mentioned that she couldn’t find any crystallised ginger in Kiev at all, & was in a fix as she really wanted it in her Christmas cake. She excitedly called back a few days later to say her friend who was visiting Istanbul found some & picked it up for her. End of story, blah, blah, blah. Hmmmmmm…or so I thought! Then comes along a David Levobitz post. What else, but crystallised ginger (or candied ginger).

Of course I read it with new found interest, & decided it was a great opportunity to inaugurate my candy thermometer. Bought a nice load of ginger the next day…sadly never had time to crystallise it, & it met its eventual fate in curries & kebabs! A few days ago, got drawn to it again. My trusted vendor at the vegetable bazaar had brought a load of fresh ‘spring ginger’, which, as David writes, is the best for the recipe. It’s strange but we get the best ginger, young & less fibrous, in winter around here. It might sound even stranger, but the first strawberries of the season are beginning to show up now!!!

OK…back to the ginger. I sliced it up fine, etc & etc , bunged it in. Then some fresh tangerines beckoned to me. My mother sent me a bagful that morning as she had got loads from a kind old lady’s daughter. (The old lady used to send us some every single year till she sadly passed away a few months ago). Her daughter brought us the first fruit off the tree as she said that’s what her Mom would have done! How touched we were! In December or January for the past few years, a couple of days are always reserved to make some absolutely delicious bitter orange/tangerine marmalade. I made some just after crystallising the ginger. You can find the recipe HERE … it is finger-licking good, & just the best thing to happen to a hot buttered toast! The kids are thrilled to have a spoonful once in a while…So I quartered some tangerines, deseeded them, & put them into the same ‘cauldron‘. Gleefully waited for the thermometer to rise … candy being first for me; all I’ve ever seen is the kids fever rising in the past…LOL!! 100 degrees came pretty quick; 220 took like forever. I think I should have stirred the bottom a bit, because the sugar got somewhat caramelised, so I shut off the heat at 210. The end result…really nice & addictive crystallised ginger & tangerines!!

CRYSTALLISED GINGER & TANGERINES
as adapted from David Levobitz’s Candied Ginger
Adapted by him from Room For Dessert

1 pound (500g) fresh ginger, peeled
4 cups (800g) sugar, plus additional sugar for coating the ginger slices, if desired
4 cups (1l) water
pinch of salt
Method:

• Slice the ginger as thinly as possible with a sharp knife.
• Put the ginger slices in a non-reactive pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let ginger simmer for ten minutes. Drain, and repeat one more time.
• Mix the sugar and water in the pot, along with a pinch of salt and the ginger slices, and cook until the temperature reaches 225F (106C.)
• Remove from heat and let stand for at least an hour, although I often let it sit overnight. Or if you want to coat the slices with sugar, drain very well while the ginger is hot, so the syrup will drain away better.
• Store ginger slices in its syrup, or toss the drained slices in granulated sugar. Shake off excess sugar, and spread the ginger slices on a cooling rack overnight, until they’re somewhat dry. The sugar can be reused in a batter or ice cream base, or for another purpose.

Storage: The ginger, packed in its syrup, can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one year. If you’re concerned with it crystallizing, add a tablespoon or two of corn syrup or glucose to the sugar syrup at the beginning of step #3. If tossed in sugar, the pieces can be stored at room temperature for a few months.
I made orange shortbread cookies using the crystallised ginger & tangerines. They were delicious. Also, used some of my precious crystallised beauties in the topping & the creme brulee bit of the Daring Bakers French Yule Log, posted HERE. The post with the shortbread cookies will be here soon. The candied/crystallised ginger makes a yummy mouthful on it’s own as well. If you have the patience to try making it, do do so! It’s very addictive & well worth the effort!

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