If you’re like me, when you hear the word “ginger,” a violent wave tosses your brain into a shipwreck of unanswered questions. Ginger? Or Mary Ann? Coconut? Or Banana Cream? Is “candied ginger” a copper-headed gay bear with maple syrup stuck in his beard? Or is it Tina Louise’s stripper name?

Chocolate-Covered Ginger? I think not!

Candying – or crystallizing^[1] – is a method of preserving food with a sugar syrup. Candied ginger is delicious on its own, but covered in dark chocolate, it’s so, so, so good.  (But to do that, you have to know how to temper chocolate. I’m indolent, so I just fill a small candy dish coffee cup with a Cubs logo on it, with balanced portions of candied ginger and chocolate chips, and chow on that. But I still have some some dignity: I use Ghirardelli.) Chocolate covered ginger is so addictive, I’m surprised it’s not regulated like a prescription drug. I also throw candied ginger, finely chopped, into any kind of baked-apple-type thing, all kinds of muffins, and many kinds of cakes.

How Candied Ginger Tastes

So, you may be wondering why anyone might want to spend their time and energy candying ginger when they can buy it in bulk at Whole Foods. Three reasons: 1) People are driven by neuroses, not rationality. 2) When the Tea Party eventually shuts down not just the government, but the entire economy, my candying skills are going to trump your money-spending skills. 3) You are going to be outright fucking batty about candied ginger when you catch on to how mind-blowing the leftover syrup is, blended with your favorite whiskey! Seriously, it changed my life for the better, and it can do the same for you.

Candied Ginger
Makes … enough, probably. 

You simply need a quantity of syrup sufficient to cover the ginger. So, weigh your ginger and modify the ingredient list accordingly. The number of pieces will vary greatly, depending on how you slice it. The number of pieces per serving is likely to be somewhere between 1 and 3.

1. Slice the ginger thinly, or cut it into small cubes.^[2] Put the ginger in a small pot, add enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let ginger simmer for ten minutes. Drain.^[3]

2. Add the sugar, water, and salt, to the pot with the drained ginger. Add the optional syrup if you intend to store the ginger in its cooking liquid or if you want to keep the cooking liquid for another use.^[4] Cook the ginger in the liquid until the temperature reaches 225˚F. Remove from heat and let stand for at least an hour, or overnight. Store ginger in its syrup, or toss drained slices in granulated or coarse sugar. (A brief reheating will make draining easier.)  Shake off excess sugar, and spread the ginger slices on a cooling rack overnight, or until they’re somewhat dry.

Modified from a recipe byDavid Lebovitz.

Crystallized Ginger

Wondering what to do with leftover ginger syrup? Ginger Whiskey Highballs will convince you to candy ginger just to get the syrup!

Notes: