Eat Boutique Pickles Ginger from Foolproof Preserving

Foolproof Preserving: A Guide To Small Batch Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Condiments & More is an exciting and fully illustrated book with a wide array of fresh and modern recipes for today’s home cooks. It takes the home cook by the hand and carefully walks them through the process of preserving (and toward success in the kitchen). Perfect for beginners eager to get started and for seasoned canners who want a new collection of foolproof recipes, the book opens with “The ATK Guide to Home Preserving.” It contains a comprehensive overview fully explaining the science behind preserving and pickling and the boiling water canning process (the only method used in the book); a troubleshooting section detailing common canning problems with tips on how to avoid them; and the DIY canning kit, which outlines the essential equipment you need to preserve food at home.

Spicy, sweet, and briny, pickled ginger has many uses outside of being used as a condiment alongside sushi. "I’ve been feeling ginger lately," writes Maggie of Eat Boutique. "Call it a call from fall or maybe from my warm, steaming broth and rice bowls. It’s also most certainly in my tea and now attached to every dish that needs a little bite via this recipe from the new cookbook Foolproof Preserving from my friends at America's Test Kitchen." 

Young ginger is the type we are most accustomed to seeing on our sushi boats, but we wanted to make a recipe using mature ginger. Mature ginger is readily available in grocery stores, and can be used in many applications. While young ginger root gets its color from the ginger's natural pink pigment, mature ginger may not always turn pink when pickled. 

To balance the pungency of the mature ginger and eliminate its tough texture, our recipe testers found that slicing the root thin against the grain and then giving it a quick boil did the trick. "The most awesome tip comes when they boil the just-sliced ginger for under a minute to take away some harshness, a must if you’re using mature ginger, and to wilt the slices so they tumble into the jar and succumb to the rice vinegar brine," writes Maggie. 

Like we said, there are many uses for pickled ginger. Maggie writes about a few of her favorites: "I eat a few slices between bites of rich dumplings, to cut some of the richness. I also put a few slices on top of fried rice, pho bowls, or alongside store-bought veggie sushi...But with a few slices of this homemade condiment, it feels like a homemade meal, really." With a homemade option for pickled ginger, you can spice up takeout sushi night. 

For the full review—and more information about pickling ginger—see the original post on Eat Boutique.