How to Store Ginger Root to Keep it Fresh and Flavorful

• Store fresh, whole ginger in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. If the ginger is peeled, dry it off with a paper towel before storing it.
• Keep minced ginger refrigerated in a sealed jar for up to 1 week.
• Freeze peeled ginger wrapped in plastic for up to 3 months. For minced ginger, freeze it in smaller portions (or an ice-cube tray); then, transfer these portions to a freezer-safe bag.

Refrigerating Fresh Ginger

Whole and peeled ginger Place the ginger in a sealable plastic bag, taking care to push all of the air out of the bag. Then, stash it in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator for around 3 weeks to keep it fresh. If you’ve peeled your ginger, dab the extra moisture off the peeled ginger root with a clean paper towel before sticking it in a sealable plastic bag in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer.

Minced ginger Transfer your minced ginger into a clean glass jar. Replace the lid, tighten it for a good seal, and aim to use the minced ginger within a week.

Freezing Ginger

Whole ginger Peel the skin off the entire ginger knob, and then cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Stash the frozen ginger in the freezer for around 3 months, removing chunks as-needed for your future recipes. Did You Know? Frozen ginger doesn’t require any thawing time. Just remove it from the freezer and grate it into your recipes!

Sliced ginger Cut your ginger root into thin chunks—no peeling is required. Slide a piece of parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and arrange the chunks of ginger on top. Let the slices freeze for 1 night before transferring them into a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Stash the frozen ginger in the freezer for around 3 months, removing chunks as-needed for your future recipes. Freezing sliced ginger is a good option if you’d rather mince your ginger later on.

Minced ginger Peel the skin off your ginger and then mince or grate it into a fine consistency (a microplane works well for this). Then, scoop 1 tsp (4.9 mL) portions of the minced/grated ginger onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and stick them in the freezer until they’re totally frozen. Transfer the minced ginger chunks to a freezer-safe bag and keep them in your freezer for up to 6 months. It’s also possible to freeze your small minced ginger portions in an ice-cube tray. Once the cubes are completely frozen, store them in a freezer-safe bag in your freezer.

Puréed ginger Slice the unpeeled ginger into smaller slices, working into the opposite side of the grain as you cut. Then, transfer these chunks to a blender and purée until they’re a smooth mixture. Pour the puréed ginger into a freezer-safe bag, seal the top securely, and then flatten the mixture so it fills the entire bag. Try to use up your frozen ginger within a few months. Whenever you need some, simply break off a piece to use in your desired recipe.

Pickling Ginger

Peel, cut, and season 2 ginger roots with salt. Aim to make moderately sized chunks rather than finely chopping the ginger up. Sprinkle 1 tsp (7 g) of salt over the ginger chunks and transfer them into a bowl.

Transfer the ginger pieces to a jar after 30 minutes. Remove the chunks from the bowl and move them into a clean mason jar.

Boil a mixture of rice vinegar and sugar and pour it into the jar. In a saucepan, mix 1 c (240 mL) of rice vinegar together with 5-7 tbsp (63-88 g) of white sugar. Wait for the mixture to reach a boil, and then transfer it into the jar on top of the sliced and salted ginger pieces.

Seal the jar and let it pickle for 1 week. Wait for the jar to cool completely before fastening the lid and stashing the jar in your refrigerator. Ideally, give the mixture a week to work its magic—once the ginger has a pinkish tint, it’s ready to slice up and enjoy. Pickled ginger lasts for about 1 month in the refrigerator.

Alternatively, pickle ginger without vinegar using lacto-fermentation. Herbal medicine expert Julie Brow-Polanco suggests peeling and slicing fresh ginger into thin slices and pounding it lightly to release some of the juices. Then, “pack it down into a quart-sized mason jar, leaving at least 1 in (2.5 cm) of headspace at the top. Make a brine with 1 c (240 mL) of filtered water and 2 tbsp (28 g) of sea salt and pour it into the mason jar, still leaving 1 in (2.5 cm) of headspace. Seal the jar and store it in a dark, room-temperature space for about 3 days before enjoying the ginger." According to Brow-Polanco, “lacto-fermented means that you don’t use vinegar, but instead use Lactobacillus bacteria to essentially pickle the ginger.” She goes on to explain that “just a small amount with meals is plenty.”