Dried Ginger Vs. Fresh Ginger

When ginger is first harvested, it is the rhizome, or root, of the ginger plant. It may be sold in this form or dried and ground into a powder before packaging and sale. While significant health properties are attributed to ginger, the benefits differ somewhat between fresh and dried ginger. Before using ginger for any health reasons, however, consult with your doctor first. As for cooking purposes, fresh and dried ginger are significantly different in the resulting taste and texture of the dishes in which they are used.

Dried Ginger

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, says Deni Bown in "Herbal: The Essential Guide to Herbs for Living," dried ginger is used to treat colds, coughs, vomiting and diarrhea, and it is also used to raise body temperature lowered due to shock. According to MedlinePlus, dried ginger is also used to relieve stomach, chest and lower-back pain. In a study published in the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry" in July 2010, dried ginger was found to have slightly more antioxidants than fresh ginger.

Fresh Ginger

MedlinePlus notes that fresh ginger is used for toothaches and migraine headaches, rheumatism, malaria, dysentery and poisonous snake bites, and that the juice of fresh ginger is sometimes used topically to treat burns. Bown adds chronic bronchitis to this list. Practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine also use fresh ginger as a fever reducer.

Gingerol

Fresh ginger contains a substance known as gingerol that, when the ginger is dried, changes quickly into two other substances called zingerone and shogaol. According to a 2005 study reported in "Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications," gingerol may have antibacterial and immune-system-enhancing properties. Grating and cooking fresh ginger also causes the gingerol in it to rapidly degrade. Therefore, to get the maximum benefit of gingerol from your fresh ginger, eat it as soon after grating and/or cooking as possible.

Culinary Uses

Fresh ginger is a popular ingredient in Chinese and southeast Asian cooking, while dried ginger is more commonly used in baking, curries, chutneys and seasoning mixes and as a part of pickling spice mixes. The flavor of dried ginger and fresh ginger are quite different. Dried ginger is spicier than fresh, but fresh ginger adds moisture and texture to a dish where dried does not. Dried ginger can be stored at room temperature and has a much longer shelf-life than fresh ginger, which can be refrigerated for up to three weeks.

Substitutions

Substituting dried ginger for fresh ginger, or vice versa, is not recommended. If you must substitute dried for fresh ginger, use only about 1/8 tsp. of dried per teaspoon of fresh ginger. As a more concentrated form of the herb, dried ginger should be used in much smaller quantities than fresh ginger to achieve the same desired degree of flavor.