Candied Ginger
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Make your own homemade candied ginger, also known as crystallized ginger! The flavor is WAY better than store-bought, much fresher and more vibrant. It will bring your baked goods to life, plus it’s fabulous just to snack on!
Homemade Candied Ginger
Have you ever come across a recipe calling for candied ginger but passed because you didn’t have any, couldn’t find any in the store, or just didn’t want to bother trying to find it? Or have you thought about making it yourself but weren’t sure how or figured it would be too much work? Well this is for you!
If you like candied ginger just wait until you’ve tried homemade. The flavor is worlds better – so much fresher with a stronger, more vibrant flavor. And if you don’t care for candied ginger, you’ll be converted once you’ve tried it in a few recipes. It adds such a great to a variety of baked goods.
Because it’s so fresh, and you know the source, you can also reap the health benefits of ginger, something that’s been used medicinally for centuries. And while you obviously want to eat candied ginger in moderation because of its sugar content, if you’re going to indulge your sweet tooth this is a much better alternative than straight up candy, right?
Candied Ginger Recipe
Let’s get started!
Generally you want to use young, small ginger roots because they’re less woody/more tender. But medium-sized will work just fine as well. I recommend organic if possible.
Peel the ginger and slice it thinly and evenly. You can either do it by hand or use a mandolin. I highly recommend the Swissmar Borner Mandolin.
If you slice it paper thin the result will be crunchy crystallized ginger, but you also don’t want it too thick. 1/8 is thick is about right. You’ll need about 1 pound of sliced ginger.
Place the sliced ginger in a medium-sized pot and cover with water and just a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
Reserve 1/2 cup of the ginger water and then drain the sliced ginger (you can also keep the ginger water for tea or a tonic).
Place the reserved ginger water and sugar in the pot.
Add the sliced ginger, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer uncovered for about 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
The mixture will become somewhat thickened as the sugar turns to a syrup. Simmer until a candy thermometer or instant read thermometer reads 225 degrees F. You don’t have to use a candy thermometer but it sure makes it a lot easier than guesswork.
Once the ginger mixture has reached 225 F drain the ginger immediately while hot. Use a colander over a bowl so you can collect the drained syrup. Don’t discard that syrup. This recipe produces a delicious by product: GINGER SIMPLE SYRUP! Add a teaspoon or two to your drinks for a refreshing ZING!
Lay the ginger slices out on a large cooling rack over a cookie sheet, separating the individual slices the best you can (this is the more tedious part of the process). Let the ginger sit for 2 hours so they’re sticky but not wet (you want the sugar to be able to adhere without dissolving).
Toss the pieces in a bowl of sugar to coat all sides. Lay the crystallized ginger back on the cooling rack to sit overnight to dry. Note: If you’re in a place with high humidity you can also dry these in a food dehydrator or in the oven on the very lowest temperature setting (you may need to keep the oven door cracked open).
Store the crystallized ginger in an airtight container in a dark, cool place. Because it’s cooked and sugar and then coated with sugar, it will keep for several months.
This makes roughly 2 cups of homemade candied ginger.
Feel free to double or triple the recipe as needed.
How to Use Crystallized Ginger
Candied ginger (aka crystallized ginger) is not only a yummy snack on its own, it’s a versatile ingredient that will liven up so many dishes. Here are just a few ways that you can use your homemade crystallized ginger:
- Added to banana bread, and Lemon Zucchini Bread
- Baked into cakes, cupcakes and muffins (see my Preserved Lemon Ginger Pound Cake)
- Added to Scottish Shortbread, ginger snaps, sugar cookies, Whole Grain Molasses Cookies, and Cornish Fairings
- Added to pear, apple, and other crisps (see my Pineapple Mango Coconut Crumble with Candied Ginger, Rhubarb Crisp and Peach Crisp)
- Baked into waffles and pancakes (see my Whole Wheat Sourdough Waffles)
- Stirred into Healthy Homemade Granola
- Stirred into Homemade Greek Yogurt
- Sprinkled over ice cream
Enjoy!
Be sure to also try my Homemade Candied Orange Peel (or lemon, grapefruit and lime)!
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Candied Ginger
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh ginger root , preferably young/smaller roots, sliced about 1/8 inch thick (by hand or use a mandolin – it's much easier)
- pinch of salt
- 2 cups white granulated sugar
- extra sugar for coating
Instructions
- Place the sliced ginger in a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the ginger water and then drain the ginger slices.
- Place the sliced ginger back in the pot with the reserved ginger water, sugar and pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until the temperature on a candy thermometer reads 225 degrees F.Drain the ginger in a colander over a bowl to catch the syrup (see Note).
- Lay out the ginger slices on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet, separating the slices the best you can. Let cool for 2 hours (you want them sticky but not wet so that the sugar will adhere without dissolving).Toss the ginger slices in a bowl of sugar so they are coated all over. Place the ginger slices back on the cooling rack to sit overnight. Note: If you're in a very humid area you can dry the candied ginger in a food dehydrator or in the oven set to the lowest temperature (you may need to crack the oven door open.)
- Store in an airtight container in a dark, cool place. Will keep for several months. It can also be frozen for at least 6 months.This makes roughly 2 cups of candied ginger.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet June 5, 2015
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Hi Kimberly,
I found your recipe while searching for a ginger cookie recipe. It called for crystallized ginger. I didn’t have a pound, only a half pound of fresh ginger root. I followed your recipe but only used 1 cup of sugar in half a cup of water for second boil. It turned out great. I didn’t have much liquid left after draining the ginger. I’m wondering if I make it again with the full pound of ginger if I should use 1 cup of water with the 2 cups of sugar. Is there a reason you use such a small amount of water with the sugar? In your picture it looked like you had a lot more than a half coup of liquid after your second boil? Was that a larger batch?
Thanks for posting this recipe, it tastes great! I used to buy bags of crystallized ginger from Penzeys spices in Michigan, but it was expensive. I moved out of state and hated to pay for shipping also. This recipe is just as good or better. I can’t wait to make my cookies.
Thank you for the recipe you gave. I have tried this recipe, even though there have been a few incidents, because after I boiled the ginger, there was very little ginger water left. I had to boil the ginger again for 5 minutes to get extra water. Sharing a little story, maybe because I live in Indonesia (a tropical country), then I don’t need to take long to dry ginger. And the ginger syrup I produce is darker, whereas the amount of sugar I use is less than the recipe, because I’m afraid of being too sweet. The reason could be because of the ginger and sugar that I use in Indonesia. But most importantly, I’m happy because the results are so delicious, even though this is my first try.
I’m so glad you’re happy with the results, Dahliani, thanks for the feedback!
Awesome recipe. For my own twist I ate a tea bag to the ginger and syrup while it’s cooking for a little flavor
The secret to drying the ginger is use a sillipat liner on a half sheet pan, be sure to separate the ginger pieces and put in the oven (oven is turned off) with the oven light on overnight (10-12 hours). Next morning the ginger will be a bit sticky and ready to toss in the sugar. Leaving the oven light on gives just enough warmth to adequately dry the ginger.
Hi,
Thanks for this! I was looking for the candied ginger recipe and found this! I am so eagerly to try this! But i couldn’t find the amount of sugar i should put in the water for making ginger syrup. Could you please kindly advice me? Thanks!
Hi Sophia, scroll down to the very bottom of the blog post, past the step-by-step preparation pictures, and you’ll see the actual recipe box with the list of ingredients and instructions. It will give you the quantities for all of the ingredients.
Whole foods sells candied Australian ginger. It’s amazing. Not as hot. I’m looking for the Australian ginger to make this recipe.
Anybody dare try this with a different t type of sugar? Something vegan I mean.
Josiah, you should not have any trouble with using vegan sugar. What makes most sugar non-vegan is that it is refined through bone char. Vegan sugar is the same exact product except it hasn’t been put through this process. There are several companies that even make a granulated vegan sugar. Sugar that is considered vegan has all of the same preservation properties that refined sugar has.
And don’t throw away the pealings dehydrate them and use them in a tea ball to make ginger tea!
Thank you again!!! :-)
You’re very welcome! :)