As the cost of our weekly food shop continues to climb, it's essential to extend the life of our fresh produce.
Cooking expert Maria Keenan, known as Oxford Girl Cooks on social media and author of several cookbooks, has shared a valuable tip on TikTok for keeping ginger fresh for an extended period.
Maria started her video by admitting: "If you're anything like me, you'll buy ginger and it'll go bad before you've had chance to use it." She then revealed her simple technique: "Take a spoon and scrape off all the skin - this is the most effective way to do it in terms of the least amount of waste."
She cautioned viewers about the risk of ginger juice squirting into their eyes while demonstrating how to chop the ginger into smaller pieces and store them in a zip lock bag. "There's no real secret to this," she continued.
"Now you can pop it in the freezer and it will last for six months." Maria concluded with enthusiasm: "You can now have nice fresh ginger whenever you want it."
She also recommended labelling the bag with the freezing date to keep track of its shelf-life. While many TikTok users commended the trick, one person raised a concern: "I have heard you shouldn't keep ginger in the fridge."
This prompted Maria to respond: "I always do but it still dries up after a while and goes mouldy. So freezing is the best for longevity."
A second individual suggested an alternative way of using ginger, saying: "I never peel my ginger. There is lots of flavour in the skin too so I blend it all with the skin. Give it a try."
To which Maria responded sharing her own method: "Blend? I just finely chop for cooking or take whole slice in hot water with lemon."
Whilst a third person pointed out a potential issue: "Problem is it [frozen ginger] will all stick together." But Maria had a solution at hand, explaining: "You can give it a shake after 1-2 hours and it should separate. I spread it out in the bag to minimise sticking together. Each slice will be thawed by the time you've sliced it up."
Abbie Leeson, behind The Ginger People and Gin Gins brands, also supports freezing ginger, stating that it's an excellent method for preserving the root's texture. She told Martha Stewart that her preferred method of long-term storage is freezing, which can keep ginger good for up to six months.
"The best way to do this it to cut it into coin size pieces and store it in a freezer bag," she confirmed. Additionally, Abbie noted that keeping ginger at room temperature is fine for the short term, but not beyond a week as, "with time, it will start to lose its moisture and flavour, then shrivel."
Although storing ginger in the fridge is an option - where it can last three to four weeks - Abbie warned that the texture might suffer, admitting: "It can last three to four weeks, but it may get spongy in the refrigerator," and revealing that this is her least preferred storage method for the spice.
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