Most efficient way to mince/grate lots of fresh ginger?

[The Dairy Queen]

I'm thinking about baking several batches of cookies that call for a lot of fresh ginger. Does anyone have any great tips to share for mincing fresh ginger? I use my little micro-grater, but, mostly it just makes a mess.

I've never tried it in my food processor, but I'm guessing that wouldn't work anyway.

Any fantastic secrets for me? Thank you!

~TDQ

[jts_houston]

I started to follow the advice of putting the ginger in the freezer, which I did. I was still not wanting to wait for it to freeze. I certainly was not looking forward to the micro place. While I was pressing garlic the idea came to me to try the garlic press on the ginger.
Worked wonderful. Possibly had a bit more juice than I did with grating, the pulp looked exactly like it does with teh grater. I had 2 teaspoons in less than 1 minute. I would suggest a somewhat sturdy press but I guess just about any press will do.

jts_houston

[magiesmom]

I use the mincing attachment on my immersion blender. It works perfectly.

[will47]

Perhaps you could juice it (either with the flat of a cleaver or in a juicer) and just add the juice? If you want the chunks, I sometimes mince it simply by chopping it with a knife.

The small specialized ginger graters mentioned by others (the ceramic ones look nice; we just have a cheap plastic one from the Asian market) work pretty well, assuming that's the texture you want.

[eclecticsynergy]

Maybe the Chinese had ginger kids in mind when they made this one...

[kattyeyes]

LOLOL! I use my microplane, but have been meaning to pick up a ceramic grater as I find grating ginger to be a PITA. I knew there was something else I shoulda been looking for when I hit the Asian grocery this weekend. OK, next time! :)

P.S. I am digging the photos on this thread--this and Christmas Bear! HO HO HO!

[greedygirl]

When I made David Lebovitz's ginger cake recently, which uses lots of fresh ginger, I minced it in my Cuisinart mini food processor.

[letsindulge]

I'm with you greedygirl. Works great for mincing garlic too.

[blue room]

TDQ, I've taken a pic of my method propped up on the Christmas Bear -- I just use the smaller of the 2 grating surfaces on this old (cheap!) grater. My microplane turns the ginger to mush, but just-a-little-larger holes on this grater still make fine-enough-for-recipes pieces. Works fine, really.

[bushwickgirl]

blue room, is your grater one of those "all in ones" you know, all the grating sizes on one flat grater?

[blue room]

This grater has 2 sizes, the bigger one makes carrot gratings the size you'd want for a carrot/raisin carrot/pineapple type salad. Toothsome. The other grates smaller--little bits that can disappear into a recipe and flavor it without being something you actually bite into.
I have a box grater too, but I've never needed more than these two sizes. I use a mandoline also, instead of those 2 slots in the middle of the grater.

[The Dairy Queen]

What does the bear do? ;-)

Seriously, this is terrific, thank you.

~TDQ

[blue room]

Neither ginger skin nor ginger fiber is a problem with the right sized gratings of the stuff.
All bears agree.

[Chemicalkinetics]

It just seems so dangerous to put that grater next to a teddy bear.

[alkapal]

shhhhh, i may be able to wrangle a lawsuit, if only the bear will sign my retainer agreement.

~~~~~~~
i have the specialized ceramic ginger grater; it goes to town on that ginger and "removes" the fibers. grating ginger, like mincing onions, is indeed a labor of love (um, one that you do only for love -- and not because you "love" doing it).

[bushwickgirl]

The FP with a fine grating blade may work quickly for a large quantity, but the ginger may not be as fine as you'd like or need. I'm not sure if I would recommend trying the FP, or maybe try a smaller amount to start.

I use a ginger grater, it does a better job than a microplane, imo, less snagging and build up of ginger fibers, but for larger amounts, it's a bit time consuming to say nothing of the wrist workout. A box grater on the fine side would be a bit faster, with a larger surface area, but tends to get clogged with those pesky fibers.

Get yourself one of these at some point:

http://fantes.com/images/3378graters.jpg

Here are some comments/advice from other threads, no mention of the FP:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6121...

I don't think I've been much help here, sorry, grating large quantities of ginger is a labor lf love. In lieu of purchasing a ginger grater at the last moment, try the box grater. Good luck, and all the best for your holiday season.

[The Dairy Queen]

You've been lots of help, all of you. And "grate" job bringing up that old thread, which I couldn't seem to do this morning. Thanks!

~TDQ

[rabaja]

I usually need a few Tablespoons at a time, and use my microplane too.
However, when I need lots of ginger, which I will need next week for Christmas, I peel it all with a spoon, (peelers take off too much) and then slice it thinly against the grain. This cuts the fibers into teeny pieces so you don't end up with lots of threads in your puree,
Then, throw it all in your food processor and let it whirl.
You'll have to scrape it down several times and keep going, but eventually you'll get a nice ginger puree and it's a lot easier and faster than the microplane.
I usually do this when I'm making five or six cakes at a time, so I need a lot of ginger. It also works well for the Persian ginger-garlic mixture I make from My Bombay Kitchen.

[JungMann]

You can mince ginger with a little water in the food processor to create ginger paste.