Should I peel fresh ginger before I freeze it?

[breakfastfan]

I bought a piece from the local farmer's market and I knew I could freeze it to keep it for a while, but my question is should I peel it first? It seems if I do then when I want to grate some into a dish I could just use it frozen and put it back. Thoughts?

[breakfastfan]

Thanks for all the information, will wrap well - unpeeled.

[Breezychow]

I never peel ginger before freezing. Even frozen, the skin is easy to cut off before grating. If you peel it beforehand, it will dehydrate rather quickly in the freezer.

[Duppie]

Not necessary IMO, I freeze it in a ziploc bag and microplane it directly into what ever I'm seasoning. The skin on most mature ginger is so thin that it is of little consequence after being frozen.

[bushwickgirl]

Same here, gave up peeling ginger years ago. I just wrap it well, and freeze. I keep it on the freezer door, so it doesn't get lost.

[EM23]

I keep peeled ginger in the freezer wrapped in a piece of plastic wrap inside of a freezer bag. It keeps well for months and frozen ginger is easy to grate. The only problem I have w/freezing it is that it keeps getting lost in my very full freezer and I end up buying a new piece of ginger anyway. When I clean the freezer I usually find a half dozen renegade ginger thumbs hiding out.

[todao]

If you freeze it, wrap it first in a paper towel (paper napkins will work too) then put it inside a plastic "FREEZER" bag. Don't use those sandwich bags, even if the have a "zip" seal feature. If you want to peel it, store it in a container of good wine (like sherry) but keep in mind that it will absorb some of the wine's flavor.
I agree with the "grate it frozen" idea ....