Myoga is a woodland ginger native to Japan. It is a cousin of the more familiar ginger but it is the edible flowers that are used rather than the rhizome (root). The peculiar flower buds appear at the base of the plants in early autumn. Pick them ideally before the yellow petals start to appear (but a little is okay). Use them immediately or make pickled myoga ginger. Pick the flower buds and remove any tough outer layers. Wash and pat dry. Slice your buds however you like … [Read more...]
Growing Myoga Ginger
Myoga ginger is a relative of the ‘regular’ ginger that we use most often in the kitchen. It is a woodland plant native to Japan, China and South Korea. While the leaves look quite similar, the rhizomes (roots) are not edible. It produces thumb-sized edible flower buds that are pinkish-bronze colour and go on to develop yellow flower petals. These flowers are quite unusual in that they are produced from the base of the plant. They are produced in early autumn and are easy to miss if you don’t … [Read more...]
Homemade Ginger Liqueur Recipe
I have recently been making a range of different fruit liqueurs with my homemade neutral spirits and fruit from my garden. Whilst not a fruit, I definitely couldn't go past trying a homemade Ginger Liqueur recipe when harvesting my ginger this year. This recipe certainly has a good level of gingery spiciness but the vanilla and orange, along with the brandy, add complexity and mellowness to the flavour. It is very definitely more-ish. 100g fresh ginger root 1 vanilla bean 1 cup … [Read more...]
Fish Curry with Ginger & Turmeric
I grew my own turmeric and ginger this year and was looking for recipes where they played a bigger role than just a small teaspoonful and found this recipe for Fish Curry with Ginger & Turmeric. It is easy to make and very tasty. Use a firm white fish and add whatever vegetables you have to hand. You can adjust the spiciness to your taste by adding more or less cayenne pepper and chilli. 1 tbsp olive oil 1 onion thumb-sized piece of ginger ½ tbsp turmeric 1 tbsp garam masala ½ tsp … [Read more...]
Lime Honey & Ginger Gummies Recipe
Over the winter I like using my citrus along with ginger and honey to make 'health tonics' like lemon, honey & ginger syrup or orange, ginger & turmeric winter tonic. This year I saw a recipe for Lime, Honey & Ginger Gummies that sounded interesting and thought it would be a different way to boost my health over the winter. The use of the word gummies made me think that they would be a lot firmer than they actually are (more like cubes of slightly thick jelly) but they are very … [Read more...]
Orange Ginger & Turmeric Winter Tonic
I love that I can still be harvesting fruit in winter with citrus at its peak providing a great hit of vitamin C when we need it most. The orange and yellow fruit help brighten up the garden too. I have grown ginger in a half barrel for a few years now but this was the first year that I also grew turmeric in a pot and was looking for ways to use it. This Orange Ginger & Turmeric Winter Tonic is a great way to enjoy the health benefits of all these ingredients. 1 cup freshly squeezed … [Read more...]
Making Stem Ginger at home
I've described previously how I have been growing my own ginger at home and then trying different ways of preserving it: such as drying it and making crystallised ginger. This time I share my efforts making stem ginger at home. I'm not sure why it is called stem ginger because it is young ginger roots in syrup - but here is the recipe I used. 800g ginger root (the younger and fresher the better) 1L water 800g sugar Peel the ginger root, using a teaspoon or potato peeler. I had previously … [Read more...]
Home-made Crystallised Ginger Recipe
I am such a big fan of ginger and use it in so many things. Now that I am growing my own ginger, I just had to have a go at making home-made crystallised ginger - and it is so much simpler than I thought it would be. 800g ginger root (the younger and fresher the better) 1L water 800g sugar Peel the ginger root, using a teaspoon or potato peeler. I had previously read about peeling it using a teaspoon and didn't really believe it was possible until I tried it with really fresh ginger … [Read more...]
Ginger Beer Recipe (non-alcoholic)
I have previously tried brewing my own ginger beer (Ginger Beer and Apple Ginger Beer) but they have always been recipes for alcoholic ginger beer. This recipe is for a non-alcoholic version that you make without the first ferment that produces the alcohol but rather just ferments in the bottles with a small amount of sugar to produce the fizz (and a very small amount of alcohol if you are being pedantic). The fermenting jar is just used for mixing in this case so you can use another large … [Read more...]
Drying Ginger at home
A while ago I shared with you that I had been successful in growing my own ginger. After my first big harvest I decided to try drying the ginger, mostly just to see how it was done and to try some different ways of preserving it for when my freezer gets too full. First scrape the skin off the ginger with a small knife. Then slice it thinly. Place slices on dehydrator trays and then into your dehydrator. I used the highest setting of 70C in mine for about 3 hours. The slices should … [Read more...]