Sunday, March 20, 2005

Holy Ginger, Batman!

I did a little cooking this afternoon . . . I made crystalized ginger. I don't think I simmered it nearly long enough, because it's sort of strange. It's sweet, and then . . . holy cow! It finishes pretty hot. (I guess that's what I get for using a Martha Stewart recipe!) Methinks perhaps the chunks I cut were not thin enough, or the sugar syrup wasn't strong enough to leech out all of the heat. Or, it called for "young, fresh ginger." I just got what they had at Rainbow, which is probably neither young nor fresh. Who knows. Maybe crystalized ginger is supposed to be hot. Anyhow, if you like sweet-hot food, here's the recipe:

Bring the following to a boil:
4 cups water
1 cup sugar
Add a bunch of peeled, sliced ginger. (I guess, slice it as thin as you can?) Reduce the heat and simmer for an hour and a half. Drain, and toss the pieces in more sugar. Place on a wire rack and let air dry.

And, I made crystalized ginger because I needed it for . . . Maple Pumpkin Custards. Those are still in the oven . . . I'll let you know how they taste!

1 comment:

Catherine Weber said...

They taste great, by the way! (If you like custard, which I do, and pumpkin pie, which I do!)
I opted for a few chopped pecans as a garnish, as opposed to the knock-your-socks-off ginger.

I think my candied ginger rates about a 10 on the Jon-O-Meter.