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Making your own candied ginger is easy and requires just 4 ingredients! It’s tender and has the perfect balance of sweet and citrusy! Enjoy it as a snack, or use it in cookies, cakes, salads, and more!
You will love this recipe if you have ever wondered what to do with that big piece of ginger sitting in your fridge!
⭐️ Why You Should Try This Recipe
- It tastes SO much better than store-bought: homemade candied ginger is fresher, more tender, and has a stronger citrusy flavor!
- It’s healthier: while it’s still a sugary treat, you know exactly what is inside. No preservatives or coloring here. Ginger is also well known for its health benefits, from calming nausea to healing upset stomach and easing period pain.
- It’s easy to make: With just 4 ingredients and a straightforward process, you will be surprised by how easy it is to make candied ginger at home! Plus, it makes a great gift!
📘 What is Candied Ginger
Candied ginger, or crystallized ginger, is fresh ginger cooked in sugar syrup. It is sweet and spicy with a fresh and zesty flavor. It can be consumed as candy or used in other recipes.
The process of making candied fruit appeared during the late Middle Ages, around the 14th century, as a way to preserve fresh fruits. The high sugar content, as well as the reduced moisture of candied fruit, preserves it from growing mold.
🥣 How to Make Candied Ginger
Preparing candied ginger is much easier than you probably think! It requires just 4 basic ingredients and consists of a straightforward process. There are different ways to make candied ginger. Here, we will use a Vietnamese-inspired method, which I find the quickest and easiest.
Here is what you will need:
- Fresh ginger – I recommend using the freshest ginger you can find. Not only will the flavor be better, but it will also be easier to slice thinly. Use small roots, which are usually less fibrous than the larger ones.
- Sugar – I recommend sticking to regular white sugar. I tried this recipe using coconut sugar but got no satisfying results.
- Salt and lime – Salt will help drain some moisture from the ginger while lime will prevent the ginger from getting a darker color.
Prepare the ginger
First, peel and slice the ginger roots. I personally used a sharp knife, but you can also use a mandolin if you want to save time.
Once done, rinse the ginger under cold water, and toss it with the salt. Let sit for 30 minutes. This step helps remove moisture from the ginger and gives it some elasticity.
Cook the ginger
Next, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the ginger slices. Boil for about 5 minutes.
Why boil? Boiling the ginger will remove some of its spiciness. I usually boil it once, drain it, and boil it a second time. For a spicy flavor, boil just once. However, if you want a sweeter flavor, boil it 3 to 4 times.
Once the ginger has been drained, transfer it to a bowl and add the sugar. Toss to coat with the sugar and let it sit overnight. The sugar will dissolve and create a syrup.
Crystallize the ginger
Finally, transfer the ginger and the syrup to a non-stick skillet. Cook, constantly stirring, until no more liquid remains.
Once the ginger has fully absorbed the syrup, remove from heat and keep stirring for another 3-5 minutes. As it cools down, the sugar will start to crystallize and create a thin sugar coating around the ginger pieces.
📔 Tips
- Keep stirring during the whole cooking process. This will prevent the ginger slices from sticking to each other.
- Remove from heat as soon as no more liquid is in the pan. Otherwise, the sugar will turn into caramel, and that’s not what you want. As it cools down, the sugar will crystallize, so keep stirring until the ginger slices are coated with a fine sugar powder.
💬 FAQ
It seems your ginger didn’t crystallize well. If there is still liquid (syrup) left, keep cooking until the ginger has fully absorbed it. Remove from heat and stir it until it starts to crystallize. Otherwise, simply let the ginger slices dry overnight on a cooling rack before coating them with granulated sugar.
Keep the candied ginger stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Candied ginger will keep for up to 1 month; after that, it tends to become a bit harder.
🍪 Where to Use Candied Ginger
Candied ginger is versatile and can be used in many recipes:
- In cookies, cakes, and bread: Especially in Christmas or Thanksgiving desserts, it’s perfect to add freshness, spiciness, and a citrusy flavor.
- As a snack: To satisfy your mid-afternoon cravings!
- In oatmeal or granola: Cut into cubes and stir into your warm bowl of oats, or add to your favorite granola recipe.
- To make chocolate barks: Melt chocolate, pour into molds, and top with candied ginger, nuts, etc!
- In savory dishes: cut it into small cubes and add it to salads or stir-fried rice.
If you love ginger, you definitely have to try this candied ginger! It’s tender, super easy to make, and has the perfect balance of sweetness and spiciness.
📙 More Ginger Recipes
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Easy Candied Ginger
Ingredients
- 10 ounces fresh ginger roots
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 lime
- 2/3 cup sugar
Instructions
- Peel the ginger roots using a sharp kitchen peeler. Slice it into 1/4-inch thick slices. Some slices will be longer than others, but that's okay.
- Transfer the sliced ginger to a large bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Stir to coat. Let it sit for about 30 minutes. The ginger will become slightly softer, and you should be able to slightly bend the slices without them breaking.
- Rinse the ginger well. Fill a large pot of water and add the juice from half of the lime. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the ginger slices and boil for about 5 minutes. Drain the ginger and repeat this step once again.
- Drain the ginger and transfer it to a deep plate or mixing bowl. Add the sugar and stir to coat. Cover with plastic film and let sit on the counter overnight or for at least 12 hours.
- After 12 hours, the sugar will have melted and created a syrup. Add the ginger slices AND the syrup to a non-stick skillet. Heat over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the syrup starts to boil. Once boiling, keep stirring frequently until no more syrup remains (about 20 minutes).
- Once no more liquid is in the skillet, remove from the heat and keep stirring using a spatula (or chopsticks). After 3-5 minutes, the sugar will crystallize, and you will see some powdered sugar forming. Now, you can transfer the candied ginger to a cooling rack and let it cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container.
- Enjoy as a snack or in baked goods, salads, etc! Candied ginger will keep for up to 1 month stored in an airtight container at room temperature. After that, it tends to become a little bit firmer.
Notes
- Keep stirring during the whole cooking process. This will prevent the ginger slices from sticking to each other.
- Remove from heat as soon as no more liquid is in the pan. Otherwise, the sugar will turn into caramel, and that’s not what you want. As it cools down, the sugar will crystallize, so keep stirring until the ginger slices are coated with a fine sugar powder.
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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Could you substitute sugar for stevia? (:
Unfortunately I am not familiar at all with sweeteners so I don’t have the answer, sorry!
Shakira, the problem with using stevia, is that some recipies that call for candied ginger require the sugar for fermentation (i.e. ginger ale). Also, I do not think stevia turns into thick candy/syrup to make the crystalline coating that helps to preserve the ginger. Remember, sugar is a natural perservative.
That’s 4 ingredients not 3 you said salt and Lime
Awesome!!
How long will this keep and what is the best way to store it?
Thanks Fiona! 🙂
As stated in the recipe, it keeps for about a month stored in an airtight container.
Amazing recipe but i tried it and i was eventually left with carmelized gingerno sugar powder and it kinda all stuck to each other . Where did i go wrong please
I guess you cooked the sugar syrup for too long and ended up caramelizing it. The sugar should crystallize, but if you cook after that point, it will turn into a caramel.
Hi Thomas,
When you say “ 1-4-inch thick slices” I’m confused.
Do you mean 1/4 of an inch thickness?
Thank you for your time
Ruth
Hi Ruth,
Yes I meant 1/4 of an inch, I will correct it!
Why does this look so mouth-watering?!?
Can’t wait to try this weekend. Thanks a lot!!!
Thanks Rin!
I tryed it. Excellent. Thank you!
Thanks Tommy!
That’s 4 ingredients not 3 you said salt and Lime
My mistake! I fixed it 🙂