How To Peel Ginger

Learn how to peel ginger the easy way using a spoon. This simple life hack can save you lots of time while reducing waste when you’re cooking. Plus video tutorial!

Fresh ginger or ginger root is a popular ingredient in cooking, especially in Asian and Indian cuisine. Many of our popular recipes such as Teriyaki Chicken and Honey Garlic Shrimp use ginger in the ingredients.

Ginger is also well-known for its health benefits, including its ability to boost bone health and strengthening the immune system, etc.

What is the best way to peel ginger?

Peeling ginger with a knife or vegetable peeler can be slow and nitpicky. A simple trick can make peeling much easier and faster. Instead of a knife, using a spoon is much easier.

Here is another secret to making ginger easier to peel – if you don’t need to use your ginger right away, you can put it in the freezer. After more than 2 hours, take it out and let it thaw for a few minutes. It then becomes much easier to peel.

Hold the ginger in one hand firmly, and hold a metal spoon in the other hand. Use the edge of a spoon to scrape against the ginger to peel off the skin.

Here is a process demo to show how to use a spoon to peel ginger.

Watch How to Peel Ginger:

How to choose and store ginger

Use the following three senses to choose ginger at the grocery store:

1. Sight: Look for ginger with smooth, taut and unblemished skin. It’s normal to be knobby and branched. The skin should be thin, sometimes even almost translucent. Never buy ginger that looks wrinkled or discolored.
2. Touch: Fresh ginger should be firm and easy to snap apart at a joint. If it cannot be snapped easily, it’s usually not fresh. You should also be able to nick the skin of fresh ginger with your nail. Avoid any ginger with soft spots, which indicate it’s getting old.
3. Smell: Fresh ginger have a peppery and pungent smell, sometimes with a slight citrus aroma.

Once you’ve bought your ginger, be sure to store it correctly to last.

Storing ginger

There are different ways of storing fresh ginger depending on how often you use it and what form you’d like to keep it.

• Whole: You can store unpeeled ginger in a ziplock bag, and press out the air. Important tip: make sure your ginger is dry. If you wash your ginger, make sure to let it fully dry before putting it in the bag. Store it in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.
• Sliced: After washing and peeling ginger, cut it into slices. The cut ginger cannot last as long as the intact whole ginger in the refrigerator. Use paper towel to dry the slices and place them in a zip lock bag or a reusable plastic bag, with the air pushed out.

Ginger is best stored in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator or freezer. If freezing, place it in a ziplock bag and write the date on it with a marker.

How long does ginger last in the refrigerator?

Unpeeled fresh ginger can last about 1 month in the refrigerator, while peeled and sliced ginger can last about one week if stored properly.

How long does ginger last in freezer?

You can store your sliced or grated ginger in freezer for up to 6 months, just as with any other frozen foods. You might be able to use it after that date, but it won’t be as good.

How to use ginger in recipes?

Ginger is a very versatile ingredient for savory main dishes, desserts, drinks, appetizers, snacks and salads. Here are recipes using ginger in our kitchen:

• General Tso’s Chicken – one of the most popular Chinese recipes
• Shrimp Fried Cauliflower Rice – a healthy, low carb and gluten-free dish
• Mummy Pumpkin Cookies – using ground ginger to enhance the flavor, a great dessert/snack recipe
• Baked Shrimp Wonton – the perfect snack for a game day party

Also be sure to try lemon ginger tea to warm you up in cold weather.