The Type Of Ginger To Use For Superior Control Over Sweetness In Baked Goods

Ginger is known to ease symptoms of morning sickness, nausea, heartburn, and indigestion. The root can be prepared in a variety of ways and is found in both powdered and pill forms, in addition to dried and fresh pieces. With a bit of processing, crystalized and uncrystallized pieces of ginger deliver the combination of sweet heat to palates. While it is easy to mistake uncrystallized and crystallized ginger on a dish, as they look the same, the two ingredients offer slightly different tasting profiles.

Both crystallized and uncrystallized ginger pieces are first cooked in a sugar syrup, but crystallized ginger is also rolled in granulated sugar as a final step, resulting in bites that are sweeter on the palate. In addition to adding warming sweetness to candies and treats, these pieces can bulk up the texture of chocolates and ice creams and bring an earthy flavor to sauces. Though uncrystallized ginger doesn't have the noticeable sugar coating that crystallized sugar has, it can still be used in recipes to add warming flavor to cookies, scones, cakes, muffins, and trail mix. You may experience the taste as a bit more intense, but without this extra layer of sugar, uncrystallized ginger can be better utilized in both savory and sweet recipes, giving cooks more control over the taste of a finished recipe.

Use pieces of ginger strategically for recipes that you find to be a bit too sweet for your liking. Incorporate uncrystallized pieces into sweeter baking recipes, and you'll have a more balanced end result when you pull it out of the oven. You can also add zing to tried-and-true recipes by finely mincing pieces of uncrystallized ginger to sprinkle on top of baked goods or by mixing diced chunks directly into batter to make apple bread or ginger snaps. Ginger added to muffins can be an energizing boost, or the ingredient can bring depth of flavor when contrasted with a sweeter inclusion, like in our recipe to make ginger and pear buttermilk scones.

If you have crystallized ginger on hand, use these sweeter morsels to turn up the volume of flavor of chocolate bars and trail mixes. The combination of the warming taste of ginger with the added sugar means that crystallized ginger gives a unique kick to baked goods, and whatever crystallized ginger pieces you have left over can be used as cocktail garnishes during your next happy hour.