Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Ginger Love

Growing up a few of my friends and I had a tradition of making decorating gingerbread houses every holiday season.  This wasn't because I loved gingerbread, I think it was more about a fun activity with friends, creativity, and of course an excuse to eat lots of frosting.

Eek, hopefully they won't mind me posting this ;)

Ginger cookies were never really quite my thing either.  But my grown up palate (for which I am entirely grateful) somehow got turned onto ginger (fresh and crystallized), and before I knew it I was addicted to Trader Joe's Ginger Cats.  The last time I bought them I immediately turned the container into crumbs so I would have a chance to bake with them instead of eating them ;)



Looking at my recent blog posts, you may have noticed the prominence of crystallized ginger in my Ginger Magic Bars, Crystallized Ginger Brownies and White Chocolate Wasabi Truffles...  all posted in the matter of a week!   I thought it was about time to tell you what has inspired all of these creations- a new find at Whole Foods, Australian Crystallized Ginger Chunks.




Distinct from the crystallized ginger I have bought in the past, it doesn't come completely caked in huge sugar crystals.  Instead, good-sized chunks of ginger are subtly sweet and delicious all in their own right.  They aren't as fibrous, either, and soft enough to easily cut them into a dice for incorporation into baked goods.  The only catch is that it's more expensive, but in my opinion the lower sugar and taste are worth it!


Have you ever tried Australian Crystallized Ginger, or have a favorite brand/type of ginger?

17 comments:

Fun and Fearless in Beantown said...

I love sweets with ginger in them - both natural and crystallized. I'm going to look for these at my neighborhood WF!

Emily @ A Cambridge Story said...

I usually don't discriminate when it comes to ginger... but I'm definitely going to keep my eye out for the Australian variety!

The Purple Carrot said...

I think my taste buds are still deciding what to do with ginger, ha. I don't see to like much of it, but the more I have it, the more I seem to like it.

brandi said...

i've never seen this kind of ginger! it sounds awesome.

Joanne said...

There's a middle eastern shop near me that sells ginger exclusively like this and it's delicious! I'll have to look for it at whole foods too now!

Elizabeth said...

I LOVE ginger. I made truffles with my friend once using crystallized ginger. Those were good.

Natalie said...

I haven't seen these but I need to find them. I too am on a big ginger kick! We had a delicious ginger cocktail lately too...yum!

Anonymous said...

I love ginger because it is so tasty AND so good for your tummy!

Kelly said...

Ooh, I may need to check these out. I have to admit that those dried gingers are usually way too pungent for my tastes, but these seem curious. Why Australian though I do wonder? Do you know?

Jean said...

Oh, the memories! Fun, laughter, decorating trepidations,,,and a big mess! Such fun :)

Reeni said...

Making gingerbread houses is so fun! It's one of my favorite things to do for Christmas. The ginger sounds good - never had it.

Amy @ ElephantEats said...

Mmmm, I love crystallized ginger! You're right though, the other kind has too much sugar. Will def have to pick this up on my next trip to Whole Foods. Thanks for the info :)

Elina (Healthy and Sane) said...

I still have a big package of "regular" crystalized ginger from TJ's that I bought for some recipe a while back... but once I'm out, I'm going to look for this stuff at WF. It sounds perfect :)

Anonymous said...

I love crystallized ginger and would love to find an Australian one to try, very neat!

Erica said...

YUM! I love crystallized ginger. I haven't baked with it yet- just eaten it as is. I usually get it from the bins at WFs. BTW- shout out to you in my post today!

Caratunk Girl said...

I love ginger. I don't have a brand I like especially, but I just LOVE ginger. I have this ginger zucchini bread I make that is SO good!

tt in nyc said...

I have such a ginger love! The best cheapest source is an asian grocery- my favorite in chinatown has a ton of ginger flavored goodies- and an amazingly strong ginger tea, hard candies, syrups, etc.....oh! And pickled ginger of course- hope you have a market nearby to explor
i

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