Candied ginger.

Date: Tue, 30 May 1995 09:11:29 +3000
Sender: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants discussion list <HERB.TREARN.BITNET>
From: Jonathan Dill <jonathan.INDIG.CARB.NIST.GOV>
Subject: Re: Ginger recipe

Hello there,

I found a recipe for candied ginger using white sugar (sorry i don't have the source with me--it was an encyclopedia of herbs and spices) and used the basic principles of the recipe to create my own recipe using honey--i made a small batch, since this was an experiment, though the proportions could probably be multiplied:

¼ lb. fresh ginger root
½ lb. honey (i used orange blossom honey)
⅔ cup water
Peel of one orange
½ cup sugar or arrow root

Peel the ginger root, and cut into thin (1/16 - ⅛ in.) slices. Clean some of the white from the orange peel, and cut into thin strips. Put the ginger, orange peel, honey, and water into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes (or until ginger is tender). Periodically add 2-3 tbsp. of water and stir when the mixture begins to foam.

Once the ginger is tender, continue to cook allowing the mixture to condense, stirring constantly (i burned the mixture slighlty--it did not ruin the batch but gave it a nice caramel color & flavor). Continue to cook until it is a very thick syrup and the ginger is transparent (i would guess somewhere between the soft ball and hard ball stage). Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool slightly, 5-10 minutes.

Turn the mixture onto waxpaper on a cookie sheet, and place it in the freezer to harden. When the mixture is hard and brittle, break into pieces, and put the pieces into the sugar or arrow root, and allow to warm to room temperature, mixing to coat.

There are many possible variations--try changing the kind of honey, or use molasses; use fruit juice instead of water; use lemon peel, lime peel, grapefruit peel, quince, papaya; add cloves, cinammon, cardamom, or other whole spices.

The fruit peel has the mildest ginger taste, and the brittle mixture is second, and the ginger itself tastes strongest--it warms the body and does wonders for congested sinuses.

Please try, enjoy, and let me know how you liked it. I would also be interested to know if people find this useful for therapeutic uses, perhaps as a demulcent, expectorant, nausea preventative, digestive. If the mixture were made with lemon juice, lemon peel, and whole cloves, i think it would be excellent for sore throats and colds, and made with fennel seeds and papaya, it would make an excellent digestive.