Though the process was pretty straightforward, it took me a long time. Peeling the ginger went slowly because the shape is so irregular and knobby. Cutting it into small pieces was also rather painstaking. But what felt like the slowest part of the process was the actual cooking. I put the ginger in the pot with water and a large quantity of sugar, and had to cook it until the liquid was a syrup about the consistency of honey. I had added some extra water because I was worried that I had more ginger than what was specified in the recipe, and because of that it probably took even longer. I only had to stir it occasionally, so I could move around and do other things, but it sure went slowly. The ginger was in the pot for fifty-five minutes before I decided it was ready.
The last part of the process was the easiest. After draining off the syrup, I just had to coat the ginger in sugar and spread it out on racks to dry. Unfortunately I cut it into such small pieces that it mostly fell through the rack, but I don't think it'll be a problem. I ate a few pieces and it seemed good to me; sweet, spicy, and soft to chew. So it seems that it turned out right. Throughout the process I had been worrying that I was doing it wrong and I'd end up wasting my ginger and my free time. But it looks like that wasn't the case. Now I have a large amount of candied ginger and some ginger syrup, too. So that's my big accomplishment for the weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment