Crystallised ginger

Nana Doris kept a steady supply of crystallised ginger in a Chinese blue and white ceramic ginger jar that had long been emptied of its original contents. We’d dip into it from time to time, but no one else in the family really understood my grandmother’s fascination for it; it seems my palate has now aligned itself with hers. I store some in the cupboard for nibbling on with a handful of nuts and dark chocolate, or adding to my Anzac biscuits, carrot cake, and even my Christmas fruit mince.

Makes about 1²/₃ cups

2 large ginger roots (see Note), about 450 g (1 lb) in total

440 g (15½ oz/2 cups) caster (superfine) sugar, or raw caster (superfine) sugar

Peel the ginger, then cut the flesh into pieces roughly 1 cm x 2 cm (½ inch x ¾ inch) in size.

Place the ginger in a saucepan with 1.5 litres (52 fl oz/ 6 cups) water. Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cover and cook for 3 hours, or until the ginger is starting to become tender.

Remove the lid. Stir in 385 g (13½ oz/1¾ cups) of the sugar until it dissolves, then cook, uncovered, for a further 3 hours, or until the ginger is quite tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife.

Line a baking tray with baking paper and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.

Using a slotted spoon, lift the ginger from the syrup, shaking off any excess syrup, then transfer to the sugared tray; reserve the syrup for other uses (see note). Turn the ginger to coat in the sugar, then spread the pieces out to dry; this should take a few hours, but will depend on the humidity.

Pop into an airtight jar or container just large enough to hold the ginger. The ginger will keep in your pantry for several months, but in very humid conditions is best kept in the fridge.

Photography © Brett Stevens

note Young, shiny-skinned ginger may require a shorter cooking time than given in the recipe, and will be more tender and less fibrous than older ginger, which also has more ‘heat’. The syrup can be used in hot drinks as a sweetener, but unlike the Ginger syrup it will set hard, so you’ll need to chip it off into pieces and melt these in boiling water. Add a splash of lemon juice for sore throats!