homemade garlic ginger combo

[divya]

hey all,

looking for ideas for homemade garlic ginger combo ( ie chopped up garlic ginger, or minced garlic ginger or garlic ginger paste that i need for diffrent types of cooking
e.g: indian cooking=paste, asian cookong=minced, soups/baking=grated

1. what would be most potent ( heard that paste loses its flavor soon enough)
2. how do u chop the garlic ginger - cleaver/ magic bullet/blender/grinder
3. preserving for maximum potency: freezing or fridge
4. medium of preservation: oil/ vinegar

thanks

[soypower]

My SIL freezes her garlic cloves, ginger and jalapenos whole, which I thought was a great idea, but I noticed that they lose their potency. I prefer to mince my garlic and ginger with a microplane. But for chopped ginger and garlic, I use a mini-chopper that I keep in the refrigerator.

http://www.blair.com/catalog/product....

[Bat Guano]

When I make a dish using a minced combination of garlic, ginger and hot peppers, I use a food processor to mince them all together. It smells heavenly when I throw it in the hot oil, and tastes great, but I don't know how long it may keep, since I always make it fresh. Not hard in a food processor, just takes a couple of minutes, so I guess that's what I'm recommending.

[cheesemaestro]

If you're going to make paste regularly, a heavy mortar and pestle will allow you to crush the ginger and garlic efficiently. The Thai ones made from granite are wonderful, but fairly expensive. I bought a granite one at Marshalls for a quarter of the price that works very well.

[divya]

cheesemaestro
yes sireee, the mortal/pestle solves the problen of not having a puree, which i prefer for chutneys and thai cooking and soups ( to chew on the ginger)
i still believe (with no evidence to support) that choppy /chunky ginger/garlic is potent vs pureed.
(maybe i am using the analogy of making a mojito-where the mint needs to be bruised vs, beaten

[cocktailhour]

If I making plenty of ginger garlic and plan to store some in the fridge, I like to use the food processor or a blender, with a little bit of water or oil. just store it in a jar in the fridge. for me, it only goes bad with cross contamination. If I have been efficient and made ginger garlic ahead, I would used it in any dish and not worry about slightly different cuts.

but, I don't plan ahead very often so the I usually chop finely with my knife. I think paste is nicer texture wise but it's just faster on a weeknight to use my knife and mince it all finely, maybe add a bit of slat and mash with the side of the blade a bit.

[divya]

cocktailhour
thank u so much= this is one of my everyday obstacles.

i will use the blender option as make ginger and garlic separately, since some Indian recipes call for one or the other. i will put in fridge in water base, i have also heard freezing it in ice cubes , perhaps then i may use oil as a medium to ensure the loss of moisture.

i am a newbiw foodie- hence clumsy with fine chopping thru a knife