Crystallized Ginger; or, a Very Hungry Sam Valentine's Day

Ok lads and ladies, readers and readettes, get ready for a Very Hungry Sam Valentine's Day 2012! Last year, we explored home-made ginger-cognac truffles, which were impressive, delicious, and pretty easy. This year, keeping with the ginger theme, I offer for your gift-giving and tasting pleasure a related treat: Simple crystalized ginger!

Yes indeed, folks -- you can make your beau (or yourself, dammit) some intense, spicy, sweet, nicely-textured ginger candy to celebrate/rage on this most-contrived holiday! The best part? You can do this tonight for under five dollars and still be super impressive tomorrow evening.

(Sidebar: If eating too much candy gives you a stomach ache -- what my friends and I call "candy belly" -- but ginger is good for settling your stomach, is this the candy you eat when you have candy belly?)

Answers and the recipe after the jump!

Ok, I don't really have answers, except that yes, crystallized ginger is a miracle food. It's pretty easy, too, although slicing the ginger takes patience and a pretty sharp knife.

BONUS: The leftover syrup from making the candy, added to seltzer, EQUALS GINGER ALE. Nice, right?

Here we go, folks:

Crystallized Ginger

Timing: 30ish minutes active, six hours total. Makes a couple good handfuls.

What You Need:

• One large piece of ginger root. I didn't weigh mine; I simply selected the largest single piece available, one that would just fit in a four inch by eight inch box.
• One cup of sugar plus two cups of sugar, plus a little extra. Just have a lot of sugar on hand.
• One teaspoon coarse or large-grain salt.

What to Do:

With a small, sharp paring knife, peel the ginger root. Then, using a large, sharp, wide-bladed knife such as a chef's knife or santoku, cut the root into slices. Any angle works, but here's the key -- the slices must be as thin as possible. Realistically, this means a couple of milimeters thick, tops.

Place the ginger in a non-reactive metal saucepan. (Don't stress about the "non-reactive" thing -- it just means NOT copper, silver, or aluminum pans. Stainless steel, for example, works fine.) Pour in just enough water to cover the ginger, bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for ten minutes. Drain out the water, then add more water (again, just enough to cover the ginger) and repeat -- boil, simmer, drain. This cooking process has the effects of softening the root, making it less fibrous and more enjoyable to bite into, and lessening the often harsh or bitter nature of ginger root.

Once cooked, add one cup of sugar and one cup of water to the pot. If for any reason this isn't enough volume to cover the ginger, add more sugar and water at a one-to-one ratio. Heat the sugar, water, and ginger mixture over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and bring to a nice simmer. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes. (Don't let it boil over; if you must, reduce the heat to prevent a boil.)

After 30 minutes, drain the contents of the pot. If you'd like, you can retain the syrup and store it in a sealed container; again, it makes a great ginger ale or mixer for cocktails. Pat the ginger dry, then place in a large plastic bag with another cup of granulated sugar and the salt. Close the bag and shake vigorously -- you're trying to sugar coat things. Heh.

Cover a plate or rimmed pan with sugar and spread out the ginger into a single layer. Allow to air dry, preferably out on the counter, but the fridge works as long as the ginger is nowhere near onions or garlic or something. The sugar will pull moisture out from the candy and allow it to harden.

Et voila! You are now a certified candy maker. Enjoy, happy Valentine's Day, and stay hungry!