Candied (Crystallized) Ginger

By my calculations, $6 for two big ginger roots + sugar = $100 of candied ginger

I made candied ginger a couple of times in Poland for scones. I make a lot of things that I would normally buy, just because it's not available. The same is true for many expats. We're just all making different things.

Prethi is making reshmi murgh tikka, an Indian silken chicken kabob, rather than going to a restaurant for it. Yana is making kubbeh, because unlike the markets in Israel, they don't sell a frozen version of the meat filled dumplings in Poland. As for me, it's been spicy sausages, candied ginger, and ranch dressing.

I'm in the states for a couple of months now, and I've seen what they're charging in the supermarket for candied ginger, $9.99 for a little spice jar of the golden goodness. I made enough to fill two jars, much larger than spice jars.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ginger root
3 cups sugar
6 cups water

Directions

• Peel the ginger and slice about 1/8 inch thick
• Add to a frying pan with sugar and water
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until almost all of the water has evaporated, stirring occasionally, more frequently toward the end
• With a slotted spoon, move the ginger to a cooking rack over parchment paper
• Allow the ginger to cool and firm up
• Dice and store in tightly cover jar, up to 3 months
• The sugar that drips off has a very strong ginger flavor and can be used to flavor tea, top ice cream, etc.