How to make candied ginger – an easy recipe that requires just 3 simple ingredients that result in a delicious treat that’s perfect to gift!
Candied ginger – what could be better? It’s almost as dangerous to have in the house as chocolate.. once you get started, it really is hard to stop snacking on.
Ask me how I know… 😉
Grab a few knobs of ginger and you really can throw a huge party. Three ingredients (ginger, sugar and water) is all you need to make this tasty snack. While you can find candied ginger in the supermarket (typically around the holidays), it can sometimes be expensive to buy.
While it has been a few years since I’ve picked it up in the grocery store, I don’t remember it being a cheap item. For the cost of one pack of candied ginger, you can pick up a pound of organic ginger and a bag of sugar, and still have money leftover.
How to Make Candied Ginger
Making candied ginger is a breeze – you’ll wonder why you ever bought it in the store.
Get started by peeling your ginger. Use a vegetable peeler or a strong metal spoon, then set aside. While a mandoline slicer isn’t required, it works super to slice your ginger real thin so they cook up faster.
While you’re slicing the ginger, combine the sugar and water in a medium pot on low-medium heat. Bring to a slow boil, stirring the sugar until it dissolves completely. Once the sugar dissolves, crank the heat on the stove to medium to encourage a slow boil… toss in your ginger.
Boil the ginger in the sugar and water solution for 45 minutes. Provided you sliced them thin enough, they should be soft and tender.
Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the sugar water and place them on a piece of parchment paper to dry evenly. Once completely dry, toss them in sugar (a ziploc bag works great for this!)
While the ginger is drying, continue to simmer the sugar water. You’ll want to aim for an additional 20 minutes until the syrup reaches a temperature of 230 degrees F.
Once the syrup has reached the target temp, remove from the stove and pour into jars for storage.
Storing and Using Candied Ginger and Syrup
Refrigerate the candied ginger in a tightly covered container. Try the ginger syrup on top of pancakes, waffles, or desserts.
Even better?
Use that syrup to make a ginger lemonade by combining a cup of syrup with 2 quarts of water and 1/2 C. of lemon juice.
Top with some ice and you’ve got a nice twist on traditional lemonade. Delicious!
Candied Ginger
Ingredients
- 1 lb ginger, organic peeled and sliced paper thin
- 3 C. granulated sugar
- 3 C. water
- 1/3 C. granulated sugar for coating ginger
Instructions
- Wash ginger; peel ginger with vegetable peeler or spoon. Slice paper thin (a mandoline works well for this). Set aside.
- In a medium pot, combine 3 C. sugar and water. Bring to a low simmer until sugar is dissolved.
- Once sugar is dissolved, bring to a low boil just under medium heat. Add the sliced ginger and boil for 45 minutes or until soft. (If you cut them too thick you might need more time). Remove with a slotted spoon and allow to dry evenly on parchment paper.
- Continue to simmer the syrup for an additional 20 minutes or until the temperature reaches 230 degrees. Remove from the heat and divide evenly among glass storage jars.
- Coat the dried ginger slices in the remaining sugar by shaking in a ziploc bag or adding the slices and sugar to a tightly covered container. Once covered in sugar, refrigerate in a tightly covered container.
Nutrition
Looking for more ways to use up an abundance of ginger?
