Since the ginger I had wasn't young ginger, thinly slicing it with a santoku knife wasn't working really well. The ginger was far too fibrous. I wound up using a vegetable peeler to slice the ginger, and it worked quite well.
This ginger is going to be used in Triple Ginger Cookies and Gingerbread Cookies. Whatever's left will probably just be eaten plain or put into hot tea. Another awesome thing about candying things? Syrups! I have a jar of lemon syrup in my fridge from some lemon peel I did awhile ago, and now I've got a jar of ginger syrup that I can use to spice up delicious alcoholic beverages.
Crystallized Ginger
3/4 lb. fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
3 c. sugar, plus more for coating, if desired
3 c. water
Place ginger slices in a large pot. Cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Drain, and repeat.
Add the sugar and 3 cups of water to the pot. Cook until temperature reaches 210F.
Remove from heat and let stand, one hour. If you're coating the slices, draing the syrup and toss slices in sugar. Shake off any excess sugar. For either, place slices on cooling racks overnight until dry.
To get myself more in the Christmas spirit, I've also decided that each portion of the cookie project will coincide with a viewing of some sort of holiday related programming. Today, I watched a Christmas episode of 'The Twilight Zone' from 1960. The episode, entitled "Night of the Meek". It's about a drunk department store Santa with a magical sack that turns garbage into presents!! It was completely uninspired and features one of the worst fake beards I've ever seen. You can check it here.
Or if you like horribly botched conversion and dubbing, you can check it below:
Watch 11. The Twilight Zone - The Night of the Meek in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
I LOVED your cookies!!
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