You can store ginger pieces for several days at room temperature or if you aren’t going to use it right away you can store it in the refrigerator. It can also be preserved for long term storage by freezing it. I like to cut it into smaller pieces before I freeze it so I can just pull out a small portion as I need it. Regardless of the storage location, you’ll notice the skin start to change in both color as well as texture. It will start to develop a skin that will look more similar to what you are accustomed to seeing on ginger in the stores.
Ginger is a very interesting and unique crop, unlike anything else we grow on the farm. This tropical plant is actually a rhizome, which is a stem that grows horizontally underground. It produces roots to anchor it and sends up shoots to grow into foliage above ground as it grows and expands.
Ginger has a wide variety of culinary uses and is a common ingredient in the cuisine of many Asian cultures. It is a base ingredient in Chinese stir-fries. It is combined with lemongrass and chiles to make Thai curry pastes and in Japan, it is often served alongside sushi in its pickled form. Ginger has a spicy, warm flavor which also makes it an excellent ingredient to include in baked goods, tea and other beverages. Ginger is an excellent ingredient to pair with other spices and rich, comforting foods such as sweet potatoes, winter squash, mushrooms, broccoli, etc.
To use your ginger, cut off a piece from the main chunk and peel it. Remember, this is very fresh ginger and still has a very thin skin so you don’t have to peel very deep, rather just gently scrape away the thin skin. You will find this fresh ginger to be very juicy and crisp with a bright flavor. It won’t take a lot of ginger to flavor a dish. Depending on what you may be using it for, you may want to extract more of the ginger juice. You can do this by pressing a small piece through a garlic press. This will remove the most fibrous portion and leave you with tender flesh and juice. The long green stems attached to the lower portion contain a mild ginger flavor as well. I cut them into 5-6 inch pieces and use them to infuse a little more ginger flavor into soups, stocks, curries, tea, etc.
Health & Nutrition: Ginger is used as both medicine and food. As a medicine, it is said to have an anti-inflammatory effect and can sooth a whole host of gastrointestinal maladies. It can also be an effective pain reliever and part of a treatment plan for cancer.
Growing Information: We grow ginger in one of our greenhouses that has a dirt floor. Ginger grows best in an ideal soil temperature of about 65°F, so trapping heat within the greenhouse helps us provide a longer period of warmth so we can maximize growth.
Ginger is actually a sterile plant and does not produce actual seed like other crops. It is vegetatively propagated meaning you plant a piece of the ginger rhizome and it grows and spreads to produce more ginger.
Additional Fun Facts: We first entertained the idea of growing ginger several years ago when a company called East Branch Ginger partnered with Puna Organics, a certified organic farm in Hawaii producing ginger seed. Now, keep in mind ginger is a tropical plant typically grown in much warmer climates so why would they market to northern growers? Given our shorter growing season, we may never reach a full-sized ginger, so they told us we would actually be growing “Baby Ginger.” We ordered some seed and gave it a try.
