Cooking With Ginger: How to Use Fresh, Ground, and Candied Ginger

Fresh ginger is especially useful in savory cooking, sauces, marinades and drinks. Ground ginger disperses easily through batters and spice mixtures, while candied ginger provides chewy pieces of concentrated sweetness and spice.

Fresh Ginger

Choose ginger that feels firm and heavy for its size, with relatively smooth skin and no large soft or moldy areas. Older ginger can become wrinkled and fibrous.

Fresh ginger’s pungency changes with heat. Long cooking mellows some of its sharp fresh character, while ginger added late in cooking tastes brighter and more assertive. That gives you control: add some early for background flavor and a little near the end when you want a fresher ginger note.

Do You Need to Peel Ginger?

Not always. Young ginger has thin skin that may be fine to leave on after washing. For tougher mature ginger, scrape the skin with the edge of a spoon or trim it with a small knife or vegetable peeler. A spoon is particularly handy around the knobs and curves.

Grating, Mincing, and Slicing Fresh Ginger

Grated ginger releases a lot of flavor quickly and disappears easily into sauces and dressings. Finely minced ginger gives small bursts of texture, while thin slices are useful when ginger will infuse a broth, tea or braising liquid.

Ground Ginger

Ground ginger is dried and powdered, so its flavor is warmer and less juicy than fresh ginger. It is particularly useful in baking because it distributes evenly through flour, sugar and other dry ingredients, but it also works in spice rubs, curries, soups and sauces.

Do not assume a spoonful of ground ginger will taste like the same amount of freshly grated ginger. If substituting one for the other, start conservatively and adjust for the particular recipe.

Candied or Crystallized Ginger

Candied ginger is ginger that has been cooked with sugar and dried, often with an additional sugar coating. It is sweeter and chewier than either fresh or ground ginger and works well chopped into cookies, cakes, quick breads and other desserts.

Ginger With Chicken, Beef, and Pork

Fresh ginger pairs naturally with soy sauce or tamari, garlic, sesame, citrus and chile peppers. Grating it into a marinade or sauce spreads the flavor throughout the dish.

Ginger in Dressings and Dipping Sauces

Raw grated ginger is useful when you want a bright, pungent flavor in a dressing or dipping sauce. Pair it with sesame, soy or tamari, rice vinegar, citrus or a little sweetness to balance its heat.

Ginger in Baking

Ground ginger provides an even background warmth in cakes, cookies and quick breads. Candied ginger can add stronger pockets of flavor and chewy texture. Fresh ginger can also be used in baking when a recipe is designed for its extra moisture and pungency.

Spices and Aromatics That Pair With Ginger

Garlic, scallions, chile peppers and lemongrass are useful savory partners. Ginger also works with coriander, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper. For more about building a flavor base, see Cooking With Aromatics.

How to Store Fresh Ginger

Keep fresh ginger dry and refrigerated in a bag or container that limits moisture loss. If you use it slowly, freezing is an excellent option. Freeze the root in a tightly sealed freezer bag or container and grate what you need while it is still frozen.

Store ground and candied ginger tightly closed in a cool, dark, dry place. Ground ginger gradually loses aroma; if it barely smells like ginger, it will contribute little flavor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I grate frozen ginger?

Yes. Frozen ginger grates easily and can often go directly into a hot dish without thawing.

Is ground ginger stronger than fresh ginger?

It is more concentrated by volume because its water has been removed, but its flavor is also different. Use less when substituting ground ginger for fresh and expect a warmer, less fresh-tasting result.

Should ginger be added early or late?

Either can work. Earlier addition produces a more mellow integrated flavor; adding some fresh ginger near the end preserves more of its sharp, fragrant character.

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