Candied Ginger
Ginger simmered in syrup and dried hard. A pocketable fix for a queasy stomach.
- calories
- 150
- weight
- 1.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 100
- protein
- 0 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- Dessert
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- Day hike
- Canoe / raft
- Car camping
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Fresh ginger root | 8 oz | young roots peel easier and are less stringy |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 2 cups | 1 cup goes into the syrup, 1 cup is for coating |
| Water | 2 cups |
Method
- At home: peel the ginger and slice it into thin coins, about an eighth of an inch. Thicker slices stay woody in the middle.
- Cover the coins with plain water in a pot and boil ten minutes. Drain. Repeat once. This pulls out enough heat that you can eat more than one piece.
- Return the ginger to the pot with 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar. Simmer at a low bubble for 40 minutes, until the syrup thickens and the coins turn translucent.
- Fish the coins out with a fork and let them drip. Keep the leftover syrup in a jar; it is ginger syrup now.
- Toss the warm coins in the remaining cup of sugar, then spread them on a rack or dehydrator tray until they are tacky but not wet. Eight hours at room temperature, or two hours at 135F.
- On the trail: open the bag, eat a coin.
This is home cooking that happens entirely before you leave. What you carry is the finished product: sugar-cured ginger that shrugs off heat, cold, and a week of getting crushed in a hipbelt pocket.
The two blanching boils matter more than the simmer. Raw ginger is aggressive enough that one piece is the limit; boiling and draining twice knocks the burn down to something you can chew on for an hour of switchbacks. The sugar does double duty, sweetening it and pulling water out so nothing molds. Chew one when altitude or a swaying canoe starts working on your stomach.
Packing
Once fully dried, they go in a small zip bag with a spoonful of loose sugar so they do not weld into one lump. A double bag is worth it in humid weather.
Variations
- Add a split vanilla bean or a few strips of lemon peel to the simmering syrup.
- Dip half of each dried coin in melted dark chocolate for cold-weather trips.
- Simmer the syrup down further and carry it in a dropper bottle for tea.
https://savoriurbane.com/ghimbir-confiat-glasat-zaharisit-reteta-de-dulceata-de-ghimbir-cu-lamaie-si-vanilie