I was wondering around in my local veggie shop, as ya do, when I spied some fresh ginger and I had a yen to make some preserved ginger. I made some a few years ago and it was so useful for adding to cakes and puds or drizzling the syrup over ice-cream. It’s very easy to make and I don’t understand why it is so blinking expensive in the shops.
800g fresh ginger
750mls sugar
375mls water
Firstly you have to peel your ginger, I used a combo of peeler, sharp knife and the edge of a teaspoon for tricky bits.
Cut the ginger into cubes that are roughly the same size.
Cover with water and soak for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Drain the ginger and place in a saucepan and cover with water, bring to the boil and drain, repeat this two more times then on the third time, simmer the ginger until a sharp knife goes through it easily, mine took just over an hour.
In a thick bottomed saucepan bring the sugar and the water to a boil, then turn down the heat a little so you have a rolling boil. Keep an eye on it and stir every now and then until the syrup thickens, 20 – 30 minutes.
Add the ginger and simmer for 10 minutes, cool completely before spooning into a sterilized jar (just rinse the jar in very hot water, shake off any excess water and pop in the microwave on high for 1 minute)
Fills one 200g coffee jar.
I slightly overestimated the amount of syrup so I ended up with a little jar of extra syrup, which I plan to make ice cream with…..or maybe a syrup drenched ginger cake…or…..watch this space!