Question on fresh ginger.

[greek salad]

It's been awhile since I used ginger in a recipe -- when I cut into a piece, the ginger had a yellowish tinge. Not sure if that is what it usually looks like, I thought it was more whitish. Hmm, but now that I think about it, I have some powdered ginger that is yellow/gold so maybe it was ok. Just seemed that different parts had different coloring when I sliced thru so wasn't sure.

So since I am posting, I read that a quick way to mince ginger was to use a microplane. Any good tips on how to peel (I just cut away) and dice up. Or it the good ol' knife really the way to go.

I don't know how long it keeps in the frig. I just tossed the ginger in the freezer -- not sure how hard it will be to cut off a piece but we'll see. It was a fairly large piece, so no way could I go thru all that keeping it in frig.

[Canice]

All the ginger I've used has been deep yellow inside.
I find a small spoon is the best tool for peeling it, though if you use a chef's knife you can make quick work of turning it into a rectangular piece which makes julienning or mincing a breeze.
Not sure whether you're asking whether it's easier to use a microplane or to simply mince it, but since every time I'm using ginger I'm cutting up a bunch of other stuff too, I don't think it's any big deal to use the second method noted above, and mince. For dressings and things where I don't want any solid pieces, I peel with a spoon and microplane.

[greek salad]

Thanks Canice --- as I was writing the thread, it dawned on me that the ground ginger is yellow. I was curious since different parts, seemed to look different.

And thanks for the suggestions on peeling, using etc.

[Terrie53]

I found that it was so much simpler to get a jar of ginger. It is sold in the same section as bottled garlic. It keeps forever in the refrigerator. Its not stringy and it doesn't go moldy like ginger root. It tastes great and I am sold on it as a staple for my pantry list.

[oceanjasper]

I also use a spoon and then a microplane. Works like a charm!

[leightx]

My favorite tip from the BB - keep a root in the freezer unpeeled, then peel and use a Microplane to grate. It grates beautifully when frozen (not so much when it's fresh). I use a veggie peeler to peel, but I'll have to try the spoon method.

[Hammster]

I keep ginger stored in the freezer. Keeps pretty much indefinitely. I tend to take the ginger and break it into about 1" pieces and freeze each piece separately, then pop them into a zip top sandwich bag and keep them in the freezer. When you let a piece thaw out for use, they sort of peel themselves and some of the liquid comes out of the ginger and the skin loosens.

[oceanjasper]

I think I read an article recently (maybe Cooks Illustrated?) where they tested various ways of storing ginger. It was quite interesting and, if I remember correctly, they had the best results with the ginger that was just tossed (unwrapped) in the refrigerator. That is usually what I do (and then forget about it!)

[vbak]

I freeze a big knob of it and grate it frozen with the micro plane. No need to peel.