![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magidI've had more than one piece of supermarket gingerroot start sprouting at my house, little roots and green sprouts appearing. They're not scary-looking like sprouted potatoes, so last year I decided to put them in actual dirt and see what happened. What I got were stalky plants up to a yard tall, with long narrow leaves on either side. Last year was the first time I tried this, and I couldn't figure out when to dig up the ginger, so kept letting it grow. Unfortunately, my plants didn't like being inside, and died, and by the time I dealt with their corpses, any gingerroot was far beyond saving (this was at the office, where dealing with dirt always seems a bit out of place). (I haven't found information about raising ginger at home, rather than in a jungle, so I've been winging it; the office seemed likely to be more consistently warm than my house.)
This year I again found some sprouting ginger, and decided to try again. I got more stalks than pieces of ginger, so I figured I must be doing something right. I brought them inside when the weather turned, but this time kept them at home, near the French doors; I've learned my lesson about the quality of light in the office with not only last year's ginger, but this year's attempt to grow lettuce at the office (salad on the hoof!): the full spectrum doesn't make it through the type of glass they use.
It's been a couple of months, and the ginger started looking poorly, with one stalk dying, another starting to go brown. Feh. I don't know if there's an annual die-back, or it doesn't like the sun/ water/ temp it's been getting, or what. This morning, I decided to get some more information. I rooted around in the dirt on the side the dead stalk had been on, and found that there are lots of roots around, pretty thick roots, too. And there's gingerroot, too. I couldn't get to it without breaking a fair number of roots, excavating the dirt, but in the end I got two pieces of ginger out, each breaking in the process. I washed them off, and found that two parts are obviously older, probably pieces I buried in the spring: they're dark brown. The other two parts are new, very light yellow, with barely any papery skin, though there are places that roots were attached.
I'm excited, and trying to figure out what to do next. Should I excavate the rest of the pieces, assuming that the plant die-back means the system is failing, or is this a seasonal reaction, perhaps to being in a non-humid climate? The roots seem pretty strong, and the roots are the important part, having generated the rest. I wonder about the leaves; when they were green, they had a faint gingery smell; they're too tough to eat, but could I use them as flavoring in soup, or as packages for food (like corn husks)? And this new ginger I have. I might try to candy it, since it's new enough to likely be pretty tender, without so many tough fibers in the middle. And the older ginger, what should I make? Toss it into soup or stir fry, or add it to whatever I try with the younger ginger? Ideas and suggestions welcome...
This year I again found some sprouting ginger, and decided to try again. I got more stalks than pieces of ginger, so I figured I must be doing something right. I brought them inside when the weather turned, but this time kept them at home, near the French doors; I've learned my lesson about the quality of light in the office with not only last year's ginger, but this year's attempt to grow lettuce at the office (salad on the hoof!): the full spectrum doesn't make it through the type of glass they use.
It's been a couple of months, and the ginger started looking poorly, with one stalk dying, another starting to go brown. Feh. I don't know if there's an annual die-back, or it doesn't like the sun/ water/ temp it's been getting, or what. This morning, I decided to get some more information. I rooted around in the dirt on the side the dead stalk had been on, and found that there are lots of roots around, pretty thick roots, too. And there's gingerroot, too. I couldn't get to it without breaking a fair number of roots, excavating the dirt, but in the end I got two pieces of ginger out, each breaking in the process. I washed them off, and found that two parts are obviously older, probably pieces I buried in the spring: they're dark brown. The other two parts are new, very light yellow, with barely any papery skin, though there are places that roots were attached.
I'm excited, and trying to figure out what to do next. Should I excavate the rest of the pieces, assuming that the plant die-back means the system is failing, or is this a seasonal reaction, perhaps to being in a non-humid climate? The roots seem pretty strong, and the roots are the important part, having generated the rest. I wonder about the leaves; when they were green, they had a faint gingery smell; they're too tough to eat, but could I use them as flavoring in soup, or as packages for food (like corn husks)? And this new ginger I have. I might try to candy it, since it's new enough to likely be pretty tender, without so many tough fibers in the middle. And the older ginger, what should I make? Toss it into soup or stir fry, or add it to whatever I try with the younger ginger? Ideas and suggestions welcome...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-12-30 09:32 am (UTC)I think the prospect of fresh, young ginger roots is kind of exciting! I think you should make something that really highlights the ginger; candying it is a great idea. Or you could pickle it, and serve it with sushi, though I think some of the fun of pickled ginger is the crunch, which the very young ginger might lack.
Very cool!
no subject
Date: 2003-12-30 09:43 am (UTC)I haven't tried candying ginger before; I assume I'll end up boiling slices in some simple syrup for a while, which isn't so dissimilar to making jam. I haven't worked with pickles nearly as much, so I'm less inclined to experiment in that direction just yet.
If you want to grow some, it's pretty easy...
no subject
Date: 2003-12-30 11:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-30 12:21 pm (UTC)Sounds like a yummy dish, btw.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-30 12:56 pm (UTC)http://www.easyfunschool.com/article1209.html
http://www.tidepoolwebdesigns.com/tikkitropical/gingercare.html
And, the one you might find most useful:
http://www.allaboutginger.com/plant.htm
no subject
Date: 2003-12-30 02:05 pm (UTC)The last one is indeed more helpful (though written in a style that makes me want to send in copyediting notes!); now I know that die-back is usual. I guess I'll keep the rest of the rhizomes buried and see what happens next spring. I probably should transplant them to a larger pot, though.... There was also a recipe for candied ginger that I may try.
Candied ginger, part the 1st
Date: 2003-12-30 02:52 pm (UTC)I found a couple of candied ginger recipes, all of which agree that there are many rounds of boiling the (peeled) ginger slices in sugar syrup.
Observations: fresh, young ginger is a lot harder to break apart than older ginger. Where the stalks grew there are perfectly round craters in the rhizome. For the thinness of the skin and the small amount of ginger I was dealing with, fingers were the best way to scrape it off and have the most left. The bases of roots were the hardest to get off; I had to resort to a knife.
I tasted a sliver of it: much hotter than I think of ginger being, and a faster heat, too. The downside: less noticeable flavor, or perhaps it's just lost in the heat.
I've got the slices boiling now in syrup. In a quarter of an hour or so, I'll let it cool, then boil it again, with a bit more sugar. Depending on how it seems then, lather, rinse, repeat.