TJ's Crystallized Candied Ginger- what to do?

[ochound]

Picked up a package of this- looked so good! But what to do with it? Something with pork or chicken might be nice- any ideas?

[gourmandadventurer]

When I'm on a "diet" I eat pieces of this along with dark chocolate.
When I'm feeling especially motivated I nuke the chocolate and dip it. Instant heaven plus the ginger will soothe your stomach, not to mention give you an excellent sugar high!

[Tom P]

This is an amazing apple pie I make often to raves. It uses the candied ginger:

SOUR CREAM-APPLE PIE

5 tart apples, peeled and sliced (I prefer Granny Smith)
1 cup golden raisins
2 T minced candied ginger
1 cup sour cream
brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
flour
2 t. cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
1 t. vanilla
1/3 cup butter
3 T. toasted chopped walnuts
1 unbaked pie crust

- toss apples, raises and ginger together. Arrange in pie crust
- combine sour cream, 1/3 cup brown sugar, white sugar, 3 T. flour, cinnamon, egg and vanilla
- pour mixture over apples
- bake at 400 for 25 minutes
- combine butter, 1/2 cup flour, 3/4 cup packed brown sugar and walnuts
- cover top of pie with this mixture
- reduce oven to 350 and bake 45-55 minutes

[Santa]

Try dicing crystallized candy ginger and adding to couscous after it sits a little while but before the liquid (maybe a light stock) is fully absorbed. Also throw in chopped nuts and dried fruit like raisins or cranberries, or a little coconut.

[another_adam]

We sometimes toss a bit of it (chopped rather small) in with sweet potatoes or carrots while roasting or braising them-- it goes especially well with some onions, raisins or apricots and a splash of orange juice. This would probably complement a variety of meats, too!

[yayadave]

Your post made me wonder if a spoonful in the butternut squash soup would not be a good thing.

[LindaWhit]

Absolutely. Use it as a garnish. I have a recipe from the Robert Mondavi Winery that calls for lime juice and fried fresh julienned ginger - I don't see why finely chopped crystallized ginger couldn't also be used.

[another_adam]

Yes, I bet so! I also use a little in halved acorn squash sometimes, with butter and honey.

[joyceweath]

I keep a box in my nighttable....it is my front line bedtime snack. Keeps me out of the kitchen when my resistance is dwindling at that dangerous hour when ice cream beckons.

[ScarletB]

I've been using that candied ginger in homemade granola lately, with cashews, some coconut oil (just a few tablespoons), ground ginger and cinnamon. I've been making a bunch of different kinds of granola lately and this is hands down the favorite!

Also, I've put it into a crust for tarts and cheesecakes - in the fall a pumpkin cheesecake with ginger crust is fabulous, or with a lemon tart filling.

[piccola]

That's what I do too! Only with dates, dried cherries, Thompson raisins and cashews, and juice instead of oil.

[piccola]

Oh, and I recently added it to applesauce. YUM.

[Kathy Thompson]

Why is it that the chocoholics can't seem to get it that there are a certain percentage of us who could give a ( "substitute rude noun or phrase") for things that combine ginger (fave flavor) with chocolate. Things are not incomplete without chocolate. Some of us actually prefer ginger to chocolate, and find that the combo is not an improvement over plain, unadulterated, really zingy ginger. A current combo favorite for breakfast is vanilla, orange, cinnamon greek yougurt with applesauce and a drizzle of "The Ginger People" ginger syrup. The crystallized ginger would work well as either a substitute for or addition to the ginger syrup.

[thursday]

I like to chop it tiny and sprinkle heavily over ricotta and a grilled peach (or broiled in the toaster oven if we're not grilling)--sprinkle with a little cinnamon and enjoy! Not only delicious, but low cal as well!

[rememberme]

If we haven't eaten it all just plain, I put it in the oats/flour/butter mixture for apple crisp.

[mordacity]

That sounds great! I'll have to give it a try.

[rememberme]

Chop it up a little before throwing it in so it adds little bursts of flavor to the crisp without overwhelming it.

[pmody]

I'm thinking of making the Zucchini Ginger Cupcakes on Epicurious. They look quite tasty. Has anyone else tried them?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[yankeefan]

I buy them all the time and do nothing but eat them straight up.

Love the stuff.

[coney with everything]

I gave a slice to a nauseated child to suck on, and it worked!

[goodhealthgourmet]

yup, ginger is a traditional remedy for nausea.

[folprivate]

Ironically I just received an email from the Napa Valley Wine Country newsletter with a recipe for Candied Ginger Creme Brulee.

Chef's Corner - Recipe of the Month
Candied Ginger Crème Brulee (Serves 5)

Ingredients
1¼ cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and seeds scraped out and reserved
4 egg yolks
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ cup Sugar in the Raw (also called Turbinado sugar)
¼ cup finely chopped candied ginger

Directions
In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil with the vanilla pod and seeds. Remove from the heat, allow to sit for 5 minutes and then strain out the vanilla pod. In a small mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks, chopped ginger and sugar until blended. Slowly add the warm cream while whisking. Pour even amounts of mixture into 5 -oz ceramic ramekins, then place ramekins in a 2-inch deep pan and pour hot water carefully around the dishes about half-way up, creating a "water bath". Place pan in pre-heated 300º oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, (times may vary), and remove when the center of the custard is just set.
Cool for at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, lightly and evenly sprinkle the Turbinado sugar over the top and "brulee", or brown it, with a small propane torch.
Serve immediately.

Bon Appétit!

Brian Whitmer
Executive Chef
The Napa Valley Marriott Hotel and Spa

[kchurchill5]

That sounds amazing!

[goodhealthgourmet]

if you think that sounds good...

http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/cch...

[folprivate]

All I can say is WOW!!!!!

[goodhealthgourmet]

i know, insane, right? it's now at the top of my list for special occasion desserts. the next time i need one, i'm busting out that recipe!

[ochound]

Thanks for the great responses. I, too, rarely make cookies that don't include chocolate, but based on the raves of some of the ginger cookies mentioned, I'll give them a try!

[Stuffed Monkey]

You could always add chocolate chips or chunks to the gjnger cookies.

[yayadave]

You could make these ginger cookies. The recipe doesn't say so, but the comments indicate that you can add crystallized ginger.
http://www.chow.com/recipes/10071
Also, the April Bon Appetite has a recipe for a double ginger sour cream Bundt cake. It uses a cup of crystallized ginger.

[PAO]

These cookies using crystallized ginger are homely but divine. They're my husband's favorites, which is saying something since he usually has no interest in anything without chocoliate:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[Stuffed Monkey]

Ginger and chocolate are terrific together. You'll get lot's of point swith your husband if you dp those cookies (I'd do them halfway) chocolate.

[coll]

Then you have to try these cookies, my husband doesn't really like ginger but when he tasted these he went crazy for them. I'll never make plain gingerbread again!

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/c...

[mordacity]

It's great in ginger cookies, but I also just eat it like candy. Sweet, but with that nice ginger burn.

[Stuffed Monkey]

Ginger Scones for sure or a ginger cookie. A great additon to a pear tart or pie. A Chutney like condiment for chicken or a curry.

[care11]

We used it on Salmon Filet once in a pinch when we didn't have fresh ginger (finely chopped it up) along with finely chopped garlic...poured some Soy Vay marinade (or could just do a soy sauce) over the salmon and then sprinkled it generously with the candied ginger and garlic. Covered it with foil and cooked it in the oven for about 14 minutes at 375. Served it over Jasmine rice and topped it w/fresh chopped scallion. It was delicious!

[LindaWhit]

Gingerbread. Use ground ginger, freshly grated ginger, and finely chopped crystallized ginger, along with dark molasses, for some of the best damn gingerbread ever.

[kchurchill5]

That I have made, crystallized ginger is great for this, made cookies one Christmas, they were awesome.

[ola]

Mixed into good vanilla ice cream - yum. Sprinkled over chocolate icing. I did use it with a pork tenderloin. Made a sauce with cherries and ginger.

[goodhealthgourmet]

this should get you off to a good start:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/544950
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/354700

[ochound]

hey, thanks, lots of info there- and I especially like the idea of dipping in dark chocolate! And I did try a search, lest you think I'm lazy = ] but I tried crystallized, not candied!

[goodhealthgourmet]

i didn't think you were lazy :) actually, all of those except for one came up when i searched for crystallized, but the trick is to change your results preferences so that they're ordered by *relevance* instead of the default setting, which automatically orders them chronologically, putting the newest threads first.