![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
A rule of thumb for ginger confectionery
Sep. 15th, 2021 03:13 pmOne thing I took away from my years in the UK was an abiding fondness for ginger confectionery - ginger biscuits, ginger cake, gingerbread, candied ginger (Asian cuisines make plentiful use of ginger, but usually in savoury dishes or as a tisane).
The only problem with UK recipes is the paucity of ginger. Two teaspoons of powdered ginger in a whole loaf of gingerbread is Not Enough. To blazes with the whole "subtle gingeriness" nonsense.
The only decently gingery ginger biscuits are from Sri Lanka, as I've said before. For anything that I am baking myself (or these days, that Housekeeper is baking), as a rule, if a recipe asks for two teaspoons of powdered ginger, I will use two to four tablespoons, depending on the strength of the ginger - the local powdered ginger is freshly made in small batches, so it's almost as good as the whole root. If it requires chopped candied ginger, like Nigel Slater's lovely double ginger cake, I will usually at least treble or quadruple the quantity, again depending on the ginger - Thai candied green ginger is quite mild but Australian candied ginger uses old roots, so it's pretty ferocious, even by my relaxed standards. Fijian candied ginger uses the whole root (I haven't had that in a while, I've only seen it in Paris), and is quite strong, with its own flavour. The UK uses Chinese ginger bottled in syrup, which I've rarely seen anywhere else. Probably some sort of colonial hangover.
And of course, candied ginger dipped in good dark chocolate is right up there with candied orange and lemon dipped in good dark chocolate as the best possible use of good dark chocolate.
Housekeeper makes ginger and lemongrass tea, which I prefer to drink with dinner, without sugar. It's also very good chilled, in hot weather, or hot as a non-caffeinated after-dinner drink with the petit-fours.
The only problem with UK recipes is the paucity of ginger. Two teaspoons of powdered ginger in a whole loaf of gingerbread is Not Enough. To blazes with the whole "subtle gingeriness" nonsense.
The only decently gingery ginger biscuits are from Sri Lanka, as I've said before. For anything that I am baking myself (or these days, that Housekeeper is baking), as a rule, if a recipe asks for two teaspoons of powdered ginger, I will use two to four tablespoons, depending on the strength of the ginger - the local powdered ginger is freshly made in small batches, so it's almost as good as the whole root. If it requires chopped candied ginger, like Nigel Slater's lovely double ginger cake, I will usually at least treble or quadruple the quantity, again depending on the ginger - Thai candied green ginger is quite mild but Australian candied ginger uses old roots, so it's pretty ferocious, even by my relaxed standards. Fijian candied ginger uses the whole root (I haven't had that in a while, I've only seen it in Paris), and is quite strong, with its own flavour. The UK uses Chinese ginger bottled in syrup, which I've rarely seen anywhere else. Probably some sort of colonial hangover.
And of course, candied ginger dipped in good dark chocolate is right up there with candied orange and lemon dipped in good dark chocolate as the best possible use of good dark chocolate.
Housekeeper makes ginger and lemongrass tea, which I prefer to drink with dinner, without sugar. It's also very good chilled, in hot weather, or hot as a non-caffeinated after-dinner drink with the petit-fours.
