Crystallized Ginger and Ginger in Syrup

I have come across a few recipes that call for either glazed ginger or crystallized/candied ginger. Since I could not find  glazed or candied ginger at the supermarket, I Googled and Youtubed for the recipe and methodology. There are many recipes and various methods of preparing these sweet treats. You can refer to here or here.

Crystallized or Candied Ginger.

I was really undecided which recipe to follow, so I borrowed the basic principles and came up with the recipe below. I used about 250g young ginger (peeled and sliced weight) and 1.5  cups sugar. The amount of water used was just enough to cover the ginger slices.

Simmer ginger slices until tender.

The ginger is first cleaned, peeled and thinly sliced. Then put them in a saucepan and fill with enough water to submerge the ginger slices. Bring to a boil and simmer until the ginger is tender.

Ginger in syrup cooling in the bottle.

Some recipes will ask you to discard the water and then start over at least 3 times. This is to take away the strong ginger flavour and bite. I did not have the time and skipped this step. I simmered the ginger and found that it took quite a long time for them to become tender. I would say it took about 50 minutes. Perhaps if I had sliced them much thinner, they would have taken less time. Meanwhile, my whole house was filled with a refreshing ginger aroma. Talk about aromatherapy! No wonder I felt so calm and slept so well that evening :)

The ginger syrup thickens further when it cools. Smells wonderful!

Once the ginger is tender, I added 1.5 cups sugar into the water and stirred to dissolve the sugar. I continued simmering until the mixture became syrupy like honey. At this point I noticed that the ginger slices became translucent. Since I wanted to make crystallized ginger as well, I put about 4 tablespoons of sugar onto a plate and removed a few slices of ginger from the syrup mixture and tossed each one of them separately in the sugar. The sugar easily stuck to the ginger slices and they hardened pretty fast. 

I took the pan off the heat and transferred the rest of the  ginger and syrup into a clean bottle. I was very careful to avoid getting burnt by the hot sugar. The syrup thickened further upon cooling. I read that the crystallized ginger can be kept at room temperature for a few months while the ginger in syrup can be kept for up to a year in the fridge.

I took one slice of the crystallized ginger and tried it. Yum! It was very good but I could taste the heat from the ginger, which was not a bad thing. I like it! I guess if you prefer a milder ginger flavor, it would be advisable to change the water 2 or 3 times as suggested by the original recipes.

Crystallized Ginger and Ginger in Syrup

Recipe source : Adapted from Various sources from the internet and Youtube

Ingredients :

- 250g young ginger, peeled and thinly sliced.

- 2.5 cups sugar.

- enough water to submerge the ginger slices in a small saucepan.
- Extra sugar for crystallised ginger

Method :
1. Put ginger slices into a small saucepan and cover with enough water to submerge the ginger.
2. Bring to a boil and simmer until ginger is tender. This takes about 40-50 minutes.
3. Add sugar and continue to simmer and stir from time to time.
4. When the sugar solution starts to thicken to syrup consistency, continue to stir and be careful not to allow the sugar to burn.
5. When the syrup is thick and the ginger slices are translucent, take the saucepan off the heat.
6. To make crystallized ginger, put some sugar (amount depends on how much ginger you want to use) on a plate and transfer ginger slices onto the plate and toss each slice in the sugar to coat.
7. When the candied ginger slices are dry and the sugar coating has hardened, keep in an airtight container or bottle. Store at room temperature or in the fridge.
8. As for the rest of the ginger in syrup, transfer into a clean bottle. Cool and keep in the fridge.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY and hosted by Alvin of Chef and Sommelier