Cooking with fresh ginger over the pre-minced stuff from the supermarket shelves gives your meals a more authentic and vibrant kick of spiciness and subtly sweetness. Since fresh ginger doesn't last as long as powdered, pickled, or jarred versions, we recommend freezing your ginger if you have a whole lot of it.

Ginger can last for a little more than a month in the fridge unpeeled, but if you need a long-term solution, start with peeling the root thoroughly. Then, place the ginger in a well-sealed freezer bag and keep it in the fridge for up to six months, and when you're ready to use it, you can grate it while it's still frozen and be good to go.

You can put the ginger root back in the freezer after grating just part of it, so you don't have to use it all at once. However, if you bake with your ginger or use it in soups, it might be better to puree the fresh ginger and pour the liquid into ice cube trays, freeze the tray, then remove the blocks and put them in freezer bags.