Candied Ginger

[yellerpup]

At Mr. Pup's Christmas office party I enjoyed a cocktail called the Ginger Mill. It tasted citrusy, like and yet not quite like lemonade and was lovely poured over ice in a tall glass. The garnish was a long spiral curl of lemon and a big, juicy slice of candied ginger. The ingredients on the menu said it was made of Bombay gin, Elderflower liqueur and Ginger liqueur. I only had one ($12) even though I wanted more. It was simply so tasty I didn't think I'd be able to stop at two, which is my limit for an evening.

I searched online for the drink recipe and had no luck. The following week, I went to our local liquor store and thought I'd get ingredients to try to recreate it for some for friends. Ahem. Just the two liqueurs would have run up over $70. I never buy gin so I don't have any idea how much Bombay costs but I did buy some candied ginger just before we went to the liquor store and that was a whopping $9 for .25 oz.! No more often than I drink, it's just not worth it to blow $90 on a cocktail. I did spring for a bottle of Canton, the ginger liqueur, and have been enjoying that and a slice of lime in my green tea on cold evenings.

I went searching for candied ginger somewhere other than the expensive shop on Main St. They were sold out at Chef's Exchange because, the salesperson said, that Alzheimer's patients are recommended to take it along on cruises for seasickness since anti-nausea meds counteract Alzheimer meds.

I did find a recipe to duplicate the candied ginger at home. I just made it this afternoon and am in bliss. Here's the link and it's as easy as can be.
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008/12/candied_ginger.html

[The empressof all]

1. I love, love, love Candied ginger

I can't keep it around though because I can't resist it. Trader Joes carrys it for a reasonable price and I do get it occasionally to throw into quick breads or oatmeal raisin cookies. Yummers....

[yellerpup]

3. I'm learning the same lesson.

I've eaten half of it already. I left about 1/3 of the batch in syrup but next time, I'm going to make it all into candy. That is if I survive my first bout of gluttony for it. :hi:

[unapatriciated]

9. They do but are temporarily out of stock right now.

Most candied ginger is made in China and TJ's stopped caring food products with single ingredient from china last year. They are looking for a new vendor for this product.
Had the same problem with Edamame, but has since found another source for that product.

[ginnyinWI]

2. this recipe is interesting

I think I'll try it if/when I find tender enough ginger. I made candied orange peel over Christmas and it was fun. Still have some and have been putting it in things like oatmeal bars for an interesting taste twist. :) Ginger will also be fun to experiment with in recipes.

[yellerpup]

4. Did you post the recipe for orange peel?

I may have seen it, but work picked up to 16 hour days for Mr. Pup over the holidays and we couldn't plan anything so I ended up not cooking much. I'd love to do orange peel. Orange and chocolate is another one of my favorite combinations. :9

[ginnyinWI]

5. I used the one in my Joy of Cooking.

But here's one from AllRecipes that looks very similar: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-Candied-Orange-and-Lemon-Peel/Detail.aspx

[yellerpup]

6. Thanks!

I'll try it!

[Tesha]

7. Candied ("crystallized") ginger is pretty commonly available at reasonable prices.

Penzey's has it for $9.85 for 8 ounces.

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyscrystallizedginger.html

Your local Asian food store may be another good resource (as is
the already-mentioned Trader Joe's).

And with regard to the gin, in our house, Mr. Tesha (the sometimes
gin-drinker in the house) recommends Tanqueray. Not only does he
think it tastes better than Bombay or Bombay Sapphire, it's usually
cheaper. And the Times seems to agree with him. ;)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/dining/02wine.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/02/dining/spirits-of-the-times-a-garden-of-delights-in-a-glass-of-gin.html?pagewanted=all

Tesha

[yellerpup]

8. Good to know.

Both about the ginger as well as the gin, but now I have both candied and crystalized ginger in stock here at home! My Asian market didn't carry it, but there is a bigger one about 10 miles away that I will check next time before I go to all the trouble. My biggest problem now is keeping my hands off the candy! Thanks, Tesha! :hi: