After talking about freezing homemade beans, cilantro basil pesto, tomato paste, creamy cauliflower queso, cashew cheese, and injera, you may think that my freezer is bulging at the seams. But there’s actually one more thing to add! I save money and minimize food waste when I freeze ginger.
I’m the only one in our house who is a fan of its floral flavor. So having frozen ginger at the ready means I can just add ginger to my dish without worrying about it going bad before I can finish it.
In the produce section of the grocery store, I look for ginger root that is fresh, vibrant, and not wrinkly.
After buying, if there’s any that I need right away, I simply break off a piece to use immediately. I then wash and completely dry the rest, put it in a freezer bag, and pop it into the freezer.
When I freeze ginger, not only does it extend the life to 6 months (it lasts about 3 weeks in the refrigerator), it also makes it much easier to grate.
When I’m ready to use the ginger, I simply remove it from the freezer and grate it with a Microplane zester while it is still frozen.
I grate as much as I need. Then I put the remaining ginger root back into its bag, and return it to the freezer.
Frozen ginger grates like a dream. That’s different than fresh ginger, which can be a little more of a hassle as the tiny “hairs” that make up the ginger root get stuck in the grater.
Since the ginger is frozen solid, it grates beautifully and has the texture of snow.
As for peeling, I don’t do it. The skin of ginger is so thin and the zester grates it so finely, I don’t see a lot of reason to do it. If I happen to see a bit of peel in the mound of ginger that I grated, I might remove it from the pile. But then again, I might not. I doubt anyone would notice it once it’s in a curry or turmeric rice.
If the thought of eating ginger peel is off putting to you, though, it’s easy to remove the skin by using a spoon. Simply scrape it off before grating.
Thank you all for chiming in on this ongoing discussion about how to minimize food waste and lower costs by maximizing storage and using the freezer to extend a food’s life.
I have appreciated hearing your ideas about what you freeze. (And I’m definitely adding chipotles in adobo to my eclectic freezer collection the next time I open a can thanks to the suggestion by several of you! I always have some left over after I make sweet potato tacos.)
Cheerfully Vegan
That’s fantastic! I freeze already chopped/grated ginger, but this sounds much better. I’m not a fan of the hairy fibers when it’s fresh. 🙂
Cadry
It certainly can’t get easier than throwing it in the freezer! Let me know how it works out for you. I’m not a fan of those hairy fibers either when ginger is fresh. They can be wily when you’re trying to grate it! 🙂
Leah
Why didn’t I think of this?!! My ginger is always shriveling up and going bad, because I don’t use it up fast enough. And not having to peel the dang thing is revolutionary. Unlike carrots or potatoes, it’s hard to peel ginger, because it’s so knobby.
Cadry
Yay! I’m glad that your future ginger roots will be saved. Truthfully, I don’t peel carrots or potatoes either. I figure there are nutrients in the skin, and unless I’m serving them to guests who will be fussed by them, I don’t mind a little extra texture.
Leah
I have a follow-up comment. I had frozen some ginger awhile back, based on your suggestion, Cadry. Just this week I made a curry recipe that called for ginger, and low and behold, there was delicious ginger in my freezer! I didn’t have to buy more, or fret over the shriveled, moldy blob it would have been!
Cadry
Yay! I’m glad to hear it! Since I started freezing ginger, I definitely have to buy it a lot less often.
Richa
nice! i think we use up the ginger fairly quickly in the house and very rarely have like a half inch left which gets wrinkly. but i am going to freeze a knob if i think i wont finish it. i dont know what to do with coconut milk though. i end up freezing small portions now.
Cadry
I’m not surprised with all of the Indian food that you make that you go through your ginger reserves quickly. I freeze coconut milk sometimes too, and it seems to thaw just fine.
Hannah
Such a good idea! I can’t believe I’ve never seen or thought of grating frozen ginger. I’m also the only ginger lover in the house so this is great 🙂
Cadry
Ginger lovers unite! 🙂 If it weren’t for freezing, I probably wouldn’t buy ginger very often since I’m the only one who eats it and most recipes call for only a small amount. However, since freezing actually improves its usefulness, it’s easy to always have some on hand for recipes. You’ll have to let me know how it goes for you, Hannah!
Becky
Such a great tip. And a pretty dish towel. 🙂
Cadry
Thank you! I love that muted blue color. It’s from a set of cloth napkins that I just bought this past weekend. In the midst of spring cleaning, I decided it was time to “retire” some of our cloth napkins that had seen better days. 🙂
acookinthemaking
I had no idea frozen ginger grated so well! Consider me a frozen ginger convert 🙂
Cadry
Yes, it’s so much easier to grate frozen than fresh. Welcome, new convert! 🙂
Herbivore Triathlete
I freeze my ginger too, it was a completely random idea I had and it worked perfectly!
Cadry
Doesn’t it work great? On the rare occasion that I grate fresh ginger instead, I always miss the ease of frozen!
Caitlin
Great tip! I had no idea freezing ginger got rid of the ‘hairy’ threads. I love the flavour of ginger but I really hate those threads!
Cadry
Awesome! I’m glad it was helpful!