Chris Reed
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!!!
CRYSTALLISED GINGER & TANGERINES
as adapted from David Levobitz’s Candied Ginger
Adapted by him from Room For Dessert
Ingredients:
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.
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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.
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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.
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