WFMW - Fresh Ginger

Have you ever seen this in a grocery store?

It's a ginger "root."Technically it is a rhizome, but if you call it a ginger rhizomes, people will just think you're weird. For a long time, I knew what it was but when passed by it in the grocery store, I gave it a look of suspicion. It weird and bumpy and I assumed it was hard to use and not at all necessary when you can buy dry ginger in the spice aisle.

I was wrong. I finally got some and it's great. The price per pound looks high but I got a good chunk for only 45 cents and considering most recipes call for less than a teaspoon, it will last a good long time. Especially now that I know the handy dandy super easy way to use it. The first time you use it, peel the whole thing. The outside looks tough but it peels real easily so don't worry. Then grate off what you need (I used a microplane zester but I think a regular grater would work fine too). Then, here is the neat part, put the rest in a plastic baggie and throw it in the freezer. Whenever you need it again, you can take it out and grate it, while it is still frozen and put it back again for the next time! So simple.

And it tastes much better than regular ginger. I used some this week in this marinade (which, by the way is very tasty and has to be the only Paula Deen recipe that doesn't call for any butter). Later this week, I am going to try it in my stir fry. I have heard that fresh ginger is what turns a average stir fry into an incredible stir fry so I am excited about that. And that is what works for me!