Ginger can be found in every supermarket. Chefs use it fresh and dried, ground and chopped into small pieces, and for some dishes you may need the root canned in syrup. In our country, liqueurs, compotes, sbitni, liqueurs and mash were first prepared with ginger, and in Europe it was used to improve the taste of ale and bread.
Now chefs all over the world put ginger in desserts, pastries, drinks, broths, baked meat, fish and rice dishes, sauces, salads and cereals. For tea and desserts, it is better to buy fresh root of the plant, and for other dishes - dried in powder form.
Ginger goes well with various spices: cloves, star anise, dill, black pepper and fennel.
For one cup of tea, it is enough to cut off 1 cm of fresh root, for 200 ml of jelly or compote - 2 cm. It can also be replaced with powder - ¼ tsp is enough.
To give the second courses a spicy taste, 1/5 tsp. mixed with vegetable oil and heated in a pan, and then meat, rice or fish are cooked in this mixture. Grate chicken or duck with chopped ginger or its powder before baking. It can be safely added to vegetables: eggplant, pumpkin, zucchini and tomatoes. Ginger in dishes with mushrooms, sauces and ketchups will not be superfluous.
It is also important to know the time when this spice should be added. It is poured into the dough only at the end of kneading, into desserts and drinks - 5 minutes before cooking, into sauces - only after the heat treatment process is completed, into stew - 20 minutes before removing from heat.
This plant is irreplaceable in sweet pastries and desserts: jams, marmalade, pudding, jelly, mousses. Many have tried gingerbread, popular in Europe, and biscuits. In Asia, tea with ginger and lemon is preferred. It is able to warm, protect against viruses and colds.
