Grate Ginger

Ginger has a multitude of culinary and medicinal uses. However, grating ginger has a reputation for being difficult. Since ginger can be dense and fibrous, ginger grating can be a difficult task for someone who isn't prepared for the job. Read the following tips to learn how to grate ginger successfully.

Steps

1. Select an appropriate grater.
   • While you may be able to accomplish the task of grating ginger with a standard box grater, you will likely find that clean-up can be a hassle. Many people who use standard graters report that the ginger becomes stuck within the perforations. Think about investing in a grater specifically designed to handle ginger gratings. Porcelain ginger graters can be purchased, along with microplane graters that are designed to be used with ginger.
2. Find a small container to grate the ginger into.
3. Decide how much ginger you want to grate.
   • You can grate the entire piece of ginger if you want to, but for most dishes, you'll only need a small piece of the ginger root to adequately season a meal. If you only need to grate a small piece of ginger, cut off a portion from rest of the root.
4. Peel the ginger.
   • Use a knife or the back of a spoon to dislodge the woody peel from the ginger. Though it can be tempting to peel the ginger like a potato, by moving the knife towards you, it isn't advisable to do this. In addition to being dangerous, you can also take off more peel than is necessary. Your goal should be to peel off just enough outer layer to expose the edible ginger underneath.
5. Scrape the ginger alongside the grater. Make sure that the ginger is traveling against the grater's grain. Allow the gratings to fall into the container.
6. Remove any remaining ginger pieces from the bottom of the grater.

Tips

• If your ginger is soft, consider freezing it before grating it. Freezing ginger makes it more solid and easier to grate.
• Drinking the liquid resulting from steeping ginger in water has been thought to alleviate the flu, colds, headaches, sore throats, and menstrual symptoms.
• Ginger has a history of being associated with nausea relief. Consider eating 2 to 4 grams of fresh ginger root whenever you feel like you might vomit. Similarly, women who experience morning sickness might consider taking 250 mg of ginger, 4 times a day, until symptoms subside.
• Arthritis pain sufferers can ingest 2 to 4 grams of ginger a day to see if symptoms improve. It can be taken in the form of extract, juice, or tea. Ginger can also be used topically by wrapping it in a compress and applying it to aching joints.
• You can store unused grated ginger and whole pieces of ginger root in your freezer.
• The ginger root's center is said to be the most flavorful. However, it can also be the most difficult to grate. Prepare to have to increase your grating efforts when you reach the center of the ginger root.

Warnings

• Do not ingest more than 4 grams of ginger per day.
• If you are currently taking blood-thinning medications, only eat ginger under the supervision of a doctor or licensed medical professional.

Related Articles

• Use a Nutmeg Grinder
• Store Herbs
• Store Ginger
• Make Candied Ginger

Sources and Citations

• http://www.ochef.com/468.htm
• http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/ginger-000246.htm

See also

• Make Vanilla Sugar
• Make Oregano Olive Oil
• Make Italian Seasoned Chicken
• Chop Basil Leaves
• Eat Wood Sorrel
• Eat Chicory
• Use Ginseng Root
• Eat Purslane
• Eat Kudzu
• Eat Heartsease

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