This is supposed to be a quick post.
I mean, there isn’t much to it, is there.
Well, there isn’t much to look at anyway… it’s candied ginger.
But to me, this is almost pornography! I love the stuff THAT much.
I’d always been reluctant to eating the store bought stuff or use it in recipe though, because I KNOW just how much sugar goes in the making of anything “candied”. And all the store bought ginger I found so far is always made with granulated sugar. Organic, perhaps, but still… sugar!
Plus, I find the chunks are usually way small and, well, a little bit on the dry side…
A few weeks ago, I came across a picture of TraderJoe’s Uncrystallized Ginger and I thought it looked amazingly good. I found that the pieces seemed really big and looked extremely tasty and chewy.
I immediately thought that I had to try and recreate it at home. Of course, I could NOT be using sugar. I had to find an alternative.
I basically had 2 choices. Honey or Maple Syrup. I found that honey would be a better match, so I went with that option. Boy did I ever make the right decision.
This ginger turned out INCREDIBLY good!
Now, I’m not gonna lie to you. Making candied ginger at home takes time.
A LOT OF TIME!
It’s the kind of recipe that you have to make over the course of several days. It’s not like you have to be there and watch it the whole time, but still, you do need to plan ahead and make sure that you will be available when your beautiful treats in the making need your attention.
And attention, they require a lot of! They are of the high maintenance kind!
Still, I think the resulting goods made every second spent at the stove very well worth my while! I have never before tasted candied ginger so good, so tender and chewy, so full of flavor.
Not only do you get ginger, you also get real notes of honey, vanilla and coconut.
Seriously, if you like candied ginger, you’re gonna LOVE this one. It never really gets hard and crunchy like the store bought stuff, it remains sort of soft and sticky, and tender and gummy…
It doesn’t get any better than this, I tell you.
Oh! and as an added bonus, when you’re done with the candying process, you are left with this incredibly concentrated ginger honey at the bottom of your pot, which you can just mix in with additional honey and you then get the most incredibly delicious vanilla ginger honey, which you can then use to drizzle over all sorts of good things, to make them even better!
Or, you can just eat it by the spoonful, like I do. 
Just don’t tell anyone I said that…
INGREDIENTS
- 700g ginger, peeled and cut into 1" cubes (this should yeld about 575g once it has been peeled and cut into cubes)
- 400g unpasteurized liquid honey
- 1kg water
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2-3 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut, ground really fine
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add water and ginger to a medium pan with fitting lid and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
- Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds. Add that, along with the honey, to the simmering ginger. Partly cover and simmer for an additional 45 minutes over low heat.
- Turn the heat off and let the ginger soak overnight, or at least 6 hours.
- Bring back to a boil, lower heat and simmer, partly covered, for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool completely, then repeat 2 more times.
- Now bring bring to a boil one last time and allow to simmer, uncovered, until the honey syrup becomes really thick and takes a caramel colour. Do not allow it to burn. This should take about 15-20 minutes.
- Remove pieces of ginger and place on a cooling rack placed over a cookie sheet and allow to dry overnight.
- (Don't throw out that little bit of honey syrup that's left at the bottom of the pot! It's extremely concentrated as it is now, but just add more honey to it and you will have the most delicious Vanilla Ginger Honey... Bonus!)
- Grind the coconut in a small food processor or coffee grinder. Transfer to a plate and roll the pieces of ginger in the coconut until coated on all sides.
- Return to the cooling rack and let dry overnight once again.
- Store in an airtight container (if you still have any left to store, that is!)
Notes
*For the record, almost 5 months later, I still have a few pieces of this in the cupboard, stored in a Mason jar, and it's still as good as it was on day one, if not better!
I dare you not to grab a piece… you know you want one!
Before it gets coated in coconut… So sticky and sweet!
Better put this in the jar before I eat it all!
Oh my, I am so impressed by this! I’ve wanted to make candied ginger for probably years now but the sugar always made me think twice. I’m definitely going to make this when I get more honey(and time of course
). Love the picture of before it’s rolled in coconut – oh my goodness, yum!
Thank you Heidi! I’d also been meaning to do this for a very long time now, but couldn’t get my hands on a suitable recipe… so I used what little experience I have in the art of candying things and decided to create my own! So glad I did, honey makes it so much better. Honey and ginger really are a match made in heaven! I hope you give it a try and, of course, let me know what you think if you do!
Your blog just keeps getting better and better! I LOVE crystallized ginger, I would put it in everything I bake if I could. I’m going to have to make this the next time I get a week off uni!
Wow, thank you so much Lisa, glad you think so!
You just made my day, seriously! I hope you do get to try this crystallized ginger. I too have been wanting to cook with it but was always reluctant because of all the added sugar. Now I can add it to my favorite “treats” without feeling too bad about it!
Make sure you let me know what you think if you ever get around to trying it!
Fabulous recipe! You keep amazing me every time, Sonia
Awww, thanks Elana. So sweet of you to say!
What a great idea, vanilla and ginger in candy form.
Just imagine the tracks that this would inspire! Dubstep all the way, baby!
Oh my gosh, you’re SO smart! I love that you used honey and coconut. Ah! I’ve been wanting to make this for ages but couldn’t figure out how to make a healthier version. Looks like porn to me!
Yay! Thank you so much, Leanne! Glad to hear I’m not the only one who sees this as porn! Now just you wait to see all the delicious recipes that this will inspire!
You must be doing it on purpose to post all these delicious sweeties right now when I am trying to be all good and at least for a while not have any sweets (or at least minimal) I just know that having these beauties on hand would make me cave in and eat the whole lot! It looks absolutely delicious and looooove your photos!
Sorry Simone… I’ll try and be good for the next couple of days… I’ve got a couple of salads lined up, so you can still pay me a visit this week, there should be a lot of “greeneries” on the menu. You might want to close your eyes when the week-end comes, though…
And did you say you LOOOOOOOVE my photos? Oh my! I am flushed. Thanks SO much. You just made my week.
I actually have never tried candied ginger before! It sounds easy enough to make, though. I bet it is good topped on carrot cake!
Wow, I’m so impressed! I would love to make these for father’s day, but it’s going to be a busy week…we’ll see what I can swing!
wow this is totally awesome! I have to make this too.
Wowza — this looks amazing! I LOVE candied ginger, this is a MUST MAKE!
If you love candied ginger, you’ll go bonkers for that one! I think once you’ve tasted it, there’s just no going back. I’m planning on making some high protein no bake candied ginger cheesecake bars this week-end, using this very ginger of course. I really hope they turn out!
Oh, and by the way, I revisited your layered chocolate peanut butter cup thingies, including some of that candied ginger too. Those turned out AMAZING! Keep an eye out for the post! It’s coming pretty soon!
I heard that the honey gets toxic when you make it hot, is it true?
Not sure, Flor… never heard of that before. I’ll definitely have to research it. Maybe someone else will have some insight to offer?
I love this! I used David Lebovitz’s recipe to make candied ginger a few years ago and it tooks hours and hours of boiling. And then it was all moldy within a few days. Obviously something went wrong and after all that trouble, I just bought five pounds of candied ginger the last time I was in the US. It’s good to know I can make my own with honey. It looks great! You’re awesome for creating a honey version of this. I will definitely make it whenever I run out of the other stuff!
FIVE POUNDS??? OMG!!!! I could never have that lying around the house, I’d be eating it all the time. I’m seriously addicted to this stuff! I can tell you I made mine like 3 weeks ago and it’s still looking (and tasting!) super good! So no fuzz or mould issues. I might transfer to fridge soon, though, just to be on the safe side!
omg, looks sooo good! How long will the ginger last after you jar it? Do you keep it in the fridge?Since it is a little bit of length process, I am wondering if you could make large batches and freeze.
Well, I’ve had mine for close to 4 weeks now and it’s not showing signs of wanting to go bad on me. I have it in a Mason jar in the cupboard. With the warmer days that we are having now, I’m thinking I might want to transfer it to the fridge, but I’m not even certain that it’s necessary. The only thing that I worry about is the coconut… without it, the ginger would just never go bad because it is candied. But without it, the ginger is very sticky… Next time I make this, which should be fairly soon because I’m almost out, I will make a bigger batch and will perhaps test freezing some, but also, I will keep some out and not use it just to see how long it does keep for.
I would love to try this but I am having a hard time with the conversion for the measurements. I have never had Ginger before. But have read it was really good for digestive problems and heartburn. I would rather have honey than sugar. Thanks
Well, it’s not an exact science Paula… basically you want to use 2 parts syrup to 1 part ginger, and to make the syrup, you need to use 2½ parts water to 1 part honey. And like I said, you can go a little bit more or a little bit less, it’s not an exact science…
Hope this helps, and if you do try it, let me know how it turned out!
Thanks I am doing it right now. I am cheating a little bit. I can’t stand for long periods so I put the Ginger & water in my pressure cooker. I had read someone online did it. Plus it won’t take as long & it seemed tough. My first experience. I may cook the syrup in a lower temperature. Thanks for getting back with me. I willowy you know how it turns out.
Ginger is finally done. I used the pressure cooker it took about 30 minutes. Then I drained the water and pressured about 45 minutes more. I then did the syrup. I had to much water for the Ginger. Boiled it about 5 minutes. Removed placed in refrigerator overnight. Rolled in coconut. Pretty good. Just a lot of work.
I would be very curious to see the results! Did you also put the honey in the pressure cooker? Candying is a process that takes a long time… the goods do need to soak in that sugary syrup in order for their structure to change. Did your ginger come out really sweet and chewy? And were you left with some of that sticky honey syrup? I might have to try this for myself now. I am REALLY curious!
Hi
I’m thinking of giving this a whirl this weekend. I’ve made candied peel before & after following the candying process also dehydrated the finished product a bit ….. I was thinking I may try this here as well although note it appears to preserve well as it is.
What does 700g of ginger look like from the store? I don’t have a food scale. The rest of the ingredients, could you translate those to teaspoons/cups? Where can I find fresh vanilla beans? This looks so yummy I really want to make it. Thanks!
This could be a bit tricky to pull without a scale, for it really is a weight thing. You need to use double the weight of honey syrup to ginger… I guess you could probably do the same by volume. Using the same ratio of ginger to syrup and making the syrup using the same ratio of honey to water. As for the fresh vanilla beans, there are tons of resources that sell them online, but usually grocery stores also carry them in the baking supplies section.
Hope this helps some! This honey candied ginger really is worth the extra effort!
Thanks! I will see if I can figure it out because I really want to try this even more now!
I’m so glad I found this. I also was trying to find an alternative to sugar, found this one and another one with Stevia, but this looks by far more appealing. It actually seems much simpler than the other recipes I’ve found. This is on my to do list. Thank you for sharing.
Oh, and it’s so good too, Cyn. Best candied ginger I ever had, seriously! And it just seems to keeps forever! Make sure to let me know how you liked it if you do give it a try!