Crystallized Ginger

Easy

Apr 3

Old-timey apothecary vibes included.

Making crystallized ginger at home is ridiculously simple, yet it somehow makes you feel like a kitchen guru. The process involves slicing fresh ginger, simmering it in sugar syrup, and then coating it in even more sugar. The result? A chewy, zesty, slightly fiery treat that somehow manages to soothe a sore throat, settle an upset stomach, and trick you into eating multiple pieces even though you swore you'd stop after one.

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What Can You Use Crystallized Ginger For?

This spicy little treat is as versatile as it is delicious. Here are some fun ways to use it:

Eat it Straight Up – Just pop a piece in your mouth and enjoy the sweet burn.
Bake It into Everything – Cookies, muffins, cakes—crystallized ginger makes any baked good taste like you have your life together.
Jazz Up Your Oatmeal or Granola – Chop it up and sprinkle it over your morning bowl of oats for an unexpected spicy-sweet kick.
Mix It Into Trail Mix – Because sometimes you want your hiking snack to be sweet, salty, crunchy, and have a surprise zing.
Infuse It in Tea – Drop a piece into hot water, and voila! You now have ginger tea without having to deal with that one soggy ginger chunk floating around.
Upgrade Your Cocktails – Muddle some into a Moscow Mule or Old Fashioned for an instant glow-up. Bartender-level skills not required.
Fancy Up Your Ice Cream – Chop some into vanilla ice cream and pretend you're at an upscale dessert bar.
Homemade Ginger Ale – Save the syrup that is made from this recipe and add some into sparkling water with lemon juice, and boom—DIY ginger ale.

Ingredients explained:

Raw ginger - I use raw ginger to get a really zingy ginger flavor, but you could use dried ginger too for a milder flavor.
Sugar - Just plain old granulated white sugar will sweeten this up, but if you prefer another sugar give it a try! You most likely will need to stir a bit more frequently to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

The recipe

Crystallized Ginger

Ingredients

2 cups of peeled and sliced fresh ginger
2 1/2 cups sugar, divided

Directions

Prepare the ginger. Use a spoon to scrape the peel off and then cut into thin slices.
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, add the ginger and boil for 15 minutes. This will help soften the ginger. Strain and reserve one cup of the boiling water.
Over low heat, melt 2 cups of sugar in the cup of ginger water. Stir until dissolved and it starts to boil. Keep the heat on low and add the ginger. Let it simmer for 45-60 minutes. The sugar will get thick and syrupy. Stir maybe once or twice. It may also get bubbly in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Take off heat and let cool for a minute.
With a slotted spoon, take the ginger out of the pan and shake the excess syrup off. Place in the sugar and toss to coat. You may want to save the ginger infused syrup to mix in drinks, just store in an air tight container in the fridge.
To keep the ginger moist, store in an airtight container after cooling. If you would like them drier and a little more chewy, spread out on a drying rack and let them dry for a day, then store in an airtight container.

Makes approximately 2 1/2 cups. Store in an airtight container, keeps for 1-2 months. If you refrigerate or freeze, they will get quite sticky from the extra moisture, but they will keep for longer.

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