You Need To Start Storing Fresh Ginger In Vodka. Here's Why.
Ginger is a staple in many different cuisines. Indian foods take advantage of the root's zingy spiciness in recipes such as mango chutney. And who can forget ginger cookies at the holidays or ginger's role as part of the autumnal favorite pumpkin spice?
Not only is ginger delicious, but it has multiple health benefits, such as soothing an upset stomach, acting as an anti-inflammatory, and easing arthritis pain, via Healthline.
With so much flavor and health benefits, ginger should be a regular part of your diet. But storing fresh ginger can be tricky. Ginger will typically last about a month if you leave it at room temperature, and if you pop it in the freezer, it will last even longer, per MasterClass. However, there is another way you can extend the life of ginger root, and it's an approach you may not have even considered: storing the ginger root in vodka.
The science behind storing ginger in vodka
You might think storing fresh ginger in liquid is a bad idea, but there is a scientific reason why it works. According to Cook's Illustrated, vodka acts as a natural preservative, slowing down the process that makes ginger spoil so quickly. Their experiments found that storing ginger in vodka helped keep it from getting mushy despite being covered in liquid for four weeks. The ginger tasted fresh, and the texture was unchanged.
You don't need your own test kitchen to try this method of storing fresh ginger; it's easy to do at home. Simply wash and cut the fresh ginger into 1-inch pieces, place them in a jar, and cover them with vodka. Any vodka will do as long as it has an alcohol volume of around 40%, via Preserve and Pickle. Store the jar in a kitchen cabinet out of the light, and you'll have fresh ginger to use in recipes for a whole month.
The magic of vodka
There are other ways of storing ginger, such as in sand or the freezer, says Farmer's Almanac. But none of them will give you the boozy bonus you get when you keep the pungent root in vodka. The ginger flavor permeates the liquor leaving you with a tasty infusion perfect for using in your favorite cocktail. Are you avoiding alcohol? No problem. You can still cook with ginger-infused vodka in recipes such as stir-fries or use it in pie crust the next time you make a pumpkin pie to take the flavor to another level. Most of the liquor burns off when you cook with alcohol, leaving you with just the peppiness of the ginger.
Vodka has a variety of uses, so that bottle won't go to waste. You can use it to remove stains, as a cleaning agent, and to remove glue residue from jars, per Insider. Put that vodka to good use. It's not just for Cosmopolitans anymore.