Leaving the peel on ginger?

[darklyglimmer]

Hi, all -- a few months ago I saw a show on the Cooking Channel (not the Food Network!) called the Spice Goddess, and the host mentioned that she never peels her ginger. Has anyone heard of this or does anyone do it? Any reason why it wouldn't work? This has been percolating in my brain all this time; I love the flavor of fresh ginger, but loathe prepping it. If I can leave it unpeeled without the end result being inedible, I would gladly do so. TIA!

[JungMann]

If I'm only slicing the ginger then I never peel. If it's getting chopped or minced, I'll peel as the skin can sometimes remain behind and provide an unpleasant texture.

[darklyglimmer]

Thanks, everyone. I think next time ginger shows up in an ingredient list, I'll give the unpeeled version a go. I've been doing the spoon thing for some time and it definitely cuts down on the kitchen grumbling, but not bothering with the peel at all sounds even easier!

[cleobeach]

I was a peeler until a friend told me she never bothers peeling when grating. Now, I don't peel when I grate.

[amokscience]

We usually had grated ginger on our tofu (several times a week) when growing up and it was always peeled before grating.

[wonderwoman]

since i almost always use grated ginger, i store it, unpeeled, in the freezer, then use a microplane, which grates the ginger, but leaves the peel.

[OldDog]

This is exactly what I do, WW. Also, there is no need to thaw the ginger root before grating.

[cheesemonger]

I never peel. I run it on the bamboo ginger grater with skin on. I'm meticulous about prep, but I would never bother to peel knotty delicious ginger!

[MVNYC]

It depends on what you are using it for. If I julienne it then I will peel it. For minced or grated I usually leave it on. When peeling you can just use a spoon and scrape the peel off.

[Breezychow]

I peel it when it's going to be an integral part of a dish. It's really not all that difficult. I just use a paring knife & slice down each side of the joint. If the parings are large enough, I save them for soup. If I'm just using the ginger for flavoring soup/broth, etc., peeling isn't necessary.

[SilverlakeGirl]

Lately I have not been peeling it and have not noticed a difference. Go for it!

[Val]

Yes, I leave it unpeeled...saw someone do that (Martin Yan maybe?) and they mentioned that the younger and fresher it is, the better for leaving it unpeeled. If I make ginger tea, I use large slices of unpeeled ginger, bruised up...and half the time I just love to eat the ginger after the tea has steeped--the peel is negligible, really. I also put slices of it in my mapo tofu...and love eating the slices of ginger there, too!

[King of Northern Blvd]

I just grate it. Most of the peel is left on one side and the ginger on the other. Any skin mixed in is never noticed.

[Shazam]

As a Korean, I had never ever seen ginger peeled for savory use until I saw white people do it. I laughed.

It's pretty easy to peel though - just use a spoon.

[jaykayen]

i don't think you need to peel it if you aren't going to eat it (making stock, soup)

[mcf]

Yes, I've been surprised to learn in a discussion the past few days on another forum that a lot of folks don't peel it. I always have.