How Long Does Ginger Last?
If like millions of other people, you love cooking with ginger because of the extra kick it can give both sweet and savory dishes then it’s inevitable that you’re going to ask yourself the question “How long does ginger last?”.
We’re going to give you some really useful guidelines when it comes to the expiry date for this well-loved root along with some easy to implement tips that’ll help to preserve its shelf life for as long as possible.
Ginger Shelf Life
Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple answer to this question. First, let’s assume that you’ve just purchased some ginger root from your local store and you simply put it on the side in your kitchen or the pantry. If this is the case, you should expect it to be past its best after roughly a week.
Ginger shelf life will be massively extended if you place it in the fridge straight after purchase. It’ll easily last for a month under these circumstances. If you place it in the freezer, you’re then looking at a period of more like three months.
Chopped ginger placed inside a sealed jar can easily last for 3 months under any storage circumstances, but if you decide to grind ginger down to use it for a modest introduction of additional kick and flavor for your food and drinks it can easily last for two to three years.
Tips for Storing Ginger Properly
Based on the above information you’re probably quite shocked at just how much the shelf life of ginger can vary depending on where and how it is stored. We’ll now share some of our top tips for ensuring that it’s always as fresh as possible.
- Freeze what you’re not using
Prepare in advance by snipping the amount of ginger you want to use and make sure that you freeze the rest to make your stem last for as long as possible.
- Store it in a brown bag in the fridge
Before placing your stem into the fridge, place it into a brown bag first to seal in as much freshness as possible. This will ensure it lasts at least a month.
- If you’re only using it for a little additional flavor, grind it down
If you’re don’t plan to use much at any one time, simply grind the stem down to ensure that it’ll last for 2-3 years while still serving as an effective condiment.
- Don’t peel it until you’re ready to use it
Taking the skin off too early will lead to it going bad faster. Leave the skin on until you’re ready to use it.
Conclusion
After today’s post, you should have a really solid idea about how you can extend the shelf life of your ginger stems. Just remember, you can keep it around in the kitchen pretty much forever if you break it down. If you’re not going to be using large chunks then it’s definitely worth storing it the way we suggest.