Making Your Own Candied Ginger and the Winner of my Giveaway

Thank you to everyone who threw their name in the hat for my great Canadian giveaway!  I had not thought about it before but started to wonder about strategy.  Should one reply first, in the middle or at the end of the contest.  Who would have the best chance?  Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that www.random.org would have chosen #1!  Yes, #1 won!  Andrea of The Kitchen Witch, you have won my gift basket!





I have been intrigued by candying fruit for the past few years.  My current foray into this interest of mine is to make my own candied ginger.

This has intimidated me for some reason.  Perhaps it is because ginger is such a woody, tough root.  I cannot visualize the transformation into a chewy, spicy sweet.  That has all changed now!

I made candied ginger yesterday and could not be more pleased with the outcome.  I must add that I

also attempted to make this earlier in the week and that recipe was a dismal failure.

There are many instructions for making this.  The first method that I tried involved using the slow cooker.  The directions told me to make a syrup, add a little glucose and cook on low in the slow cooker for 12 hours.  I woke up to the odour of burnt sugar and ginger.  The little pieces of ginger were charred beyond recognition.  I spent the rest of the day carefully cleaning the porcelain insert of the slow cooker.

Undaunted and with much more care, I tried again.

This is the method that worked for me:

Candied Ginger

1.  Peel and thinly slice fresh gingerroot.

2.  Place the sliced ginger in a heavy saucepan.

3.  Cover with water.

4.  Cook gently until tender, 30-45 minutes

5.  Drain off water.

6.  Weigh the cooked ginger and measure an equal amount of sugar.

7.  Return the ginger to the saucepan.  Add the sugar and 1/4 c water.

8.  Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar has dissolved.

9.  Reduce the heat and cook until the ginger is transparent and liquid has almost evaporated.  This make take up to 2 hours to reach the state of tenderness and transparencey that you desire.  Add more water as necessary.

10. When the ginger has finished cooking, drain on cooling racks.

11.  When cooled and dry, toss with sugar.

12.  Store in airtight container.