Maple Roasted Honeynut Squash
October 18, 2022
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Ginger is the only ingredient that anchors both savory Asian and Indian cooking AND warm fall baking on this site. The same root, sliced fresh into a stir-fry or ground dry into a spice blend, brings completely different flavor profiles to two unrelated cooking traditions. Reader favorites include PF Changs Chicken Lettuce Wraps, One Pot Eggplant Curry, and Healthy Pumpkin Spice Smoothie where ground ginger contributes warmth alongside the pumpkin. Related tags include garlic, cinnamon, and honey.
Ginger comes in three forms that are not interchangeable. Fresh ginger root brings sharp, citrusy heat and works in savory Asian, Indian, and Thai cooking. Ground dry ginger brings warmer, milder, slightly sweet flavor and works in baking and spice blends. Crystallized ginger is sugared and chewy, working in cookies and as a snacking ingredient. Recipes that call for one specifically are doing so for a reason; substituting between them rarely works without other adjustments. The most useful pairing is fresh ginger with cumin in savory work, since the two together build the base flavor of most Indian and Middle Eastern dishes.
For fresh ginger in savory cooking, the cooking method matters as much as the quantity. Grated ginger added at the end of a stir-fry keeps its sharp brightness; sliced ginger simmered for 30 minutes in a broth mellows into a sweeter, deeper flavor. Vegan Cauliflower Curry uses both techniques in the same pot — sliced ginger goes in at the start with the aromatics, then grated fresh ginger gets stirred in at the end for the bright top note.
The storage of fresh ginger root is the detail most home cooks get wrong. Whole, unpeeled ginger stored in the produce drawer dries out within two weeks. The fix: peel and freeze the whole root in a single zip-top bag, then grate from frozen as needed. Frozen ginger grates more cleanly than fresh and lasts six months. Maple Roasted Honeynut Squash uses grated fresh ginger, but the recipe works equally well with frozen ginger grated straight into the maple-and-butter glaze.
For baking, ground dry ginger is one of the four pillars of warm-spice blends, alongside cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. The typical ratio in a homemade pumpkin pie spice blend is 2 parts ginger to 1 part nutmeg, since ginger is the second-loudest spice after cinnamon. Most recipes that call for pumpkin pie spice can be made with the individual spices, which gives the home cook control over the ginger forwardness. Push the ginger up slightly for fall savory roasts; pull it back for more delicate desserts.
Ginger is commonly used in stir-fries, soups, marinades, ginger tea, cookies, cakes, and sauces to add warm and spicy flavor.
Ginger tea is made by simmering sliced fresh ginger in water for several minutes, then adding honey or lemon for flavor.
Ginger can be used in baked goods like gingerbread, savory dishes such as stir-fries and marinades, soups, sauces, and herbal drinks.
Common substitutes for ginger include ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, or nutmeg depending on the recipe.