I had settled on making some Rhubarb and Ginger Jam with the rampant rhubarb from the garden, and had then been further inspired by the post on the veg plotting blog. As the recipe called for crystallised ginger it seemed sensible to have a go at making this myself first. I have a recipe for it in The Complete Book of Small-batch Preserving, although it being an American book it calls it candied ginger.

  See here for the crystallised ginger recipe.

Recipe Costs

£1.22 130g fresh ginger
£0.14 145g sugar
£1.36 Total
£10.07 per kg crystallised ginger (very similar or more expensive to the costs in the shops)

The ginger was peeled and chopped, not a time consuming task, although I did only do a cup full. The thinly (about 2mm) sliced ginger was boiled several times, which did make the kitchen smell very nice.

While boiling for the final time I made up the sugar syrup, unlike the making of candied peel, the ginger was simmered in the syrup until it was all absorbed. This needed a bit of watching in the final ten minutes, but meant there was no sticky draining to do. I just tipped the pan straight into a bowl of sugar and rubbed until it was all coated.

The recipe suggested further drying in the oven, but as I was planning on using it straight away I didn't bother.

This was a very quick and easy recipe to do, and satisfying not to have to buy the product from the shops to use in the planned jam. You could almost prepare it as you needed it, if you had ginger in the fridge/freezer and needed crystallised ginger for a recipe. A bit disappointing that you can buy it cheaper then make it, but that was probably down to the cost of ginger. I did at least save on the petrol costs of making a special journey to get some.

Recipe Timings

0.25 hrs Preparation
1 hr Boiling, simmering in Sugar Syrup & dusting in sugar

Taste Test

This had a real kick to it, sweet at first and then fiery in the mouth. I imagine it'll make a rich tasting addition to jam or chutney, and could in small amounts be eaten as a very treaty snack.