Ginger Syrup & Candied Ginger
Today’s post is 3 + years overdue.
Several years ago, I made a blog post for a curry-ginger cracker recipe that I REALLY liked, and in that post I made mention of my recently learning at the time how to make something called ginger syrup.
Ginger syrup isn’t readily available in most general grocery stores in the US. Sometimes you can find it in specialty shops like HomeGoods, Marshalls or TJ Maxx, but I had honestly never heard of it until I needed it as an ingredient for a recipe I was trying out, couldn’t find it anywhere and had to learn to make it myself.
Candied ginger I was much more familiar with, and it’s an ingredient that is much more easy to find than ginger syrup. However, depending upon the time of year that you try to buy it in, it has a tendency to be rather pricey. This is where learning how to make it for yourself comes in handy; especially when the ingredients are very inexpensive.
An obvious question to answer here is the why: WHY make your own ginger syrup and candied ginger?
The reasons for making candied ginger aren’t hard to appreciate; unlike the store version, DIY is cheaper, you can control the size of the pieces you make, and there are endless possibilities of ways to incorporate it into other sweet treats (see below at the end of this post)
Ginger in just about any form is a very effective natural anti-inflammatory remedy. There’s a particular ginger soda called Vernors that Midwesterners–specifically those from Michigan– that’s potent enough to where we believe it can cure just about anything.
If you suffer from digestive issues, such as IBS or extreme nausea, I’ve found ginger syrup to be an EXTREMELY powerful and fast remedy–to the point where we now have it on hand at all times the same way you might always have aspirin or TUMS in your medicine cabinet. A spoonful of ginger syrup does wonders for my gut–besides that, it’s absolutely delicious.
One of the best things about this recipe is that it’s actually a 2-in-1. You get a batch of both ginger syrup and candied ginger within about one hour. It’s become a staple in our home, and if you try this recipe out, I think you’ll understand why.
See below for possible recipes with which to used candied ginger that have already been posted on the blog:
Curried Pumpkin and Ginger Scones
Ginger Syrup & Candied Ginger
Recipe By Jess @CookingisMySport
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw, peeled ginger, sliced into coins (about the thickness of a quarter)
- 2 1/2 cups white sugar, divided
- 1 1/2 cups water
Directions
Pour the water & 1 1/2 cups of the sugar together in a saucepan and stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil.
Add the ginger slices and reduce heat to a low simmer and allow to cook for a further 25-30 minutes, until the ginger is tender and the ends begin to curl. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
Place the remaining cup of sugar in a shallow bowl, pan, or tupperware container.
Take the ginger (which is now candied) out of the pan and using a fork, toss in this additional white sugar. Spread it out on foil, or wax paper for a few hours to dry.
Store in a sealed container in the fridge: you now have crystallized ginger that you can use however you want; MUCH cheaper than buying it in stores.
The liquid left in the saucepan is your ginger syrup. You’ll want to refrigerate this as well.
Sharing at Fiesta Friday #390.
I love ginger. I’m surprised that the ginger helps with your stomach with all the sugar….which is inflammatory in itself. I’m glad it works for you though. I use ginger capsules at times or teas with ginger in them.
Hope your move in is going well.
Thank you! The sugar never seems to make a difference, sometimes when I’m nauseous, ginger syrup is the only thing that will help me interestingly enough.
One of my own personal favorite projects!
I grew up with this in Japan! Looks awesome!!
Nice! Thank you 🙂