Kitchen Tip: Fresh Ginger

by Maura

I often avoid recipes that include specialty ingredients, like fresh herbs and fresh ginger, because I cannot buy small amounts economically. Although this is not what you would call a first world problem, I am always looking for ways to extend the life of my ingredients and increase the number of recipes in my repetoire. 

{image credit: wikihow.com}

A few days ago I was watching the Food Network and Melissa D'Arabian's show, Ten Dollar Dinners. She was making a recipe that called for fresh ginger and gave a tip that I see myself using. Ms. D'Arabian suggested keeping peeled, fresh ginger in the freezer and taking it out when you need it for a recipe. She said that it is actually even easier to grate with a microplane grater when it is frozen. What a great idea! I don't usually watch this show, but I am glad I was tuned in when she shared this helpful tip.

Do you have any tips for storing infrequently used ingredients? Have you heard about a particularly good tip lately? 

Comments

[natalie@thesweetslife]

I do this! I also freeze leftover chipotle peppers in adobe (bc recipes only call for a few ever) and tomato paste!

[Em]

I was going to mention the chipotle in adobo tip that natatlie did. I freeze them indivudually on a cookie sheet (so they don't all freeze into a giant clump) and then put them in a ziplock for future use. You can freeze berries in similar fashion (in case you go and pick a ton of berries and can't use them fast enough).