How To: Freeze Fresh Ginger

I love ginger. And as any ginger lover will tell you, the powdered kind might be fine in baking, but when it comes to anything else – fresh is best. But fresh ginger root can dry up, lose it’s flavor or go downright moldy if you don’t get to using it up in time.

How to... freeze fresh ginger http://meatified.com #paleo #glutenfree #vegetarian #vegan

So what’s the best way to store fresh ginger? I asked my Facebook peeps how they stored their ginger and it turns out that there are lots of options!

How To Store Fresh Ginger

…in the fridge

  • Drop the whole root in a produce drawer and forget about it. This is exactly what we’re trying to avoid!
  • Wrap the root in a damp paper towel and store in a ziploc bag.
  • Place the root in a jar, top it off with vodka and it will last for ages… and you may end up with a kickass cocktail some time later!

…in the freezer

  • Leave the whole root intact (peeling is optional) and freeze. Use a Microplane to grate what you need straight from the root.
  • Mince or slice the ginger before freezing, then store in ice cube trays. Once frozen, keep the cubes in a bag and use as needed.

But I don’t do any of those things. Me and my fresh ginger have another little sneaky habit we like to indulge in together. I used to use the “Microplane as needed straight from the freezer” method, but I hated dealing with the ginger “snow” that ensued. Why? Because it was impossible to know how much ginger I was really using. Oh, also: I’m super klutzy. I have more Microplane injury stories than anybody should ever have. Adding super slippery frozen roots to the equation doesn’t help my chances of avoiding needing a bandaid. So I came up with a different method.

How to... freeze fresh ginger http://meatified.com #paleo #glutenfree #vegetarian #vegan

Here’s How I Freeze Fresh Ginger

  1. I use my Microplane to grate up the whole ginger root.
  2. I add my grated ginger to my mini food processor – with an equal amount of coconut oil. (A kitchen scale is super handy for this.)
  3. I blend up my ginger and coconut oil until it’s combined nicely, scraping the sides a few times.
  4. I scoop the ginger-coconut oil mixture onto a parchment lined baking tray. Flash freeze the scoops on the baking tray.
  5. Once they’re solid, I pop my ginger-coconut oil scoops into a freezer container ready for when I need them!

Why is this awesome? You’ve now got handy-dandy scoops of ready-to-go ginger! Pick the size scoop that works for you and your level of ginger loving If you’re using them for savory dishes, you can just throw them straight into a hot pan and don’t need to measure out any oil. If you’re more a smoothie kind of person, now you’re getting the awesomeness of ginger with the good fats of coconut oil. You win!

If you liked this post, click here to Pin it!

How to... freeze fresh ginger http://meatified.com #paleo #glutenfree #vegetarian #vegan

4 comments

  1. You can also just grate the ginger with your microplane, put it in a ziplock bag, pat it completely flat – like a thin sheet of ginger – and store in the freezer. After that you can break of little pieces (like chocolate) as and when you need. Or break of the pieces and store in a little box. I usually just leave it flat in the ziplock – saves space in the freezer.

    1. I like to freeze things flat like that, too. I forget which bag size it is, but one of them fits perfectly into the wire basket in my chest freezer, so after freezing them flat I can drop them straight into the basket, kind of like a filing cabinet!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.