Cooking may be a necessity to keep your family fed, but by some it's considered an art. With art comes the freedom to explore and to make substitutions in recipes when you don't have one of the ingredients your original recipe requires. Ground ginger is a light brown dried powder derived from the fresh ginger root. If you are cooking and are out of dried ginger, you can easily substitute fresh ginger instead.
Step 1
Consult your original recipe to determine the measurement called for of dry ground ginger. The online Kitchen Dictionary at Food.com states that 1/8 tsp. of dried ginger is the equivalent of 1 tbsp. of the fresh root. Spices become more concentrated when they are dried, thus you need to use less of them to achieve the same taste, however the potency of fresh ginger also varies, so you may want to use a little more or a little less according to taste.
Step 2
Peel the skin off the fresh ginger with a paring knife or a vegetable peeler.
Step 3
Grate the fresh ginger with a box grater to get large individual flakes. Use a microplane with smaller holes for a grate that's finer.
Step 4
Measure out the appropriate amount of fresh ginger, using your original recipe as a guide, and add to your cooking or baking ingredients. The World's Healthiest Foods explains that your fresh ginger will taste spicier and more robust if you add the spice toward the end of your cooking time, such as in a stir fry. This method will not be possible when adding fresh ginger to baked goods; you may want to increase the measurement to achieve a more potent ginger taste.
Things You'll Need
- Paring knife
- Grater
- Measuring spoon
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