Can I substitute ground ginger for fresh gingerroot?

[becoming]

Also, how much ground ginger would be equivalent to 1/4 cup fresh gingerroot?

Thanks!

[lisalou]

I think the rule for dried herbs is use 1/3 - 1/2 of what's asked for of the fresh in a recipe. I find it almost varies from recipe to recipe. If you don't like too much ginger try 1/3 if you like a lot of ginger use 1/2. Conversion chart for you - 4 tbs to 1/4 cup and 3 tsp to 1 tbs. So 4 tsps - 2 tbs would be the range.

[tinuviel_k]

It really depends on the recipe you are using and the kind of food. Unfortunately ginger is one of those spices that doesn't switch well from fresh to dried in most recipes. What are you cooking?

[425lisamarie]

I think what is better is to keep a jar of the ginger root in the fridge. You can buy a small jar, like the minced/crushed garlic

[melissel]

Originally Posted by 425lisamarie

I think what is better is to keep a jar of the ginger root in the fridge. You can buy a small jar, like the minced/crushed garlic

This is what I do. I love ginger and add it to lots of things. This was so much easier than all the other things I tried (somehow I always managed to end up with blackened, rotten ginger root in my fridge). Just make sure to check the labels. Some brands have tons of sugar in them.

[cristeen]

For most things, the simple answer would be no. Powdered ginger does not contain nearly the kick that fresh does. If you have trouble keeping fresh ginger in the house (it always goes bad on me), there is crushed ginger in a jar like a pp suggested, or try to get ahold of ginger juice by the Ginger People. Alternately, depending on the recipe, crystallized/candied ginger may work.

Whole ginger can be kept in a jar of wine in the fridge. Take the hand of ginger, break it into smaller chunks (I peel it, just scrape with a spoon), drop it into the wine (to cover), refrigerate. It will keep months like that. It does take on a bit of a wine flavor, but in things like stir frys or marinades that's not a problem.

[desertpenguin]

you can also stick ginger in the freezer...then you can grate off what you need when you need it.

[the2amigos]

The freezer trick works great!! Just take it from the freezer, grate what you need and stick it back in the freezer! Though I didn't scrape the skin off this last time and it's a little more difficult :

[krankedyann]

I use a plastic spoon to scrape the skin off, then freeze it.

[becoming]

The problem is that I can't find fresh ginger. None of our local grocery stores have it. I am in a small rural town, and we only have Brookshire's, Piggly Wiggly, and the evil Wal-Mart. Even Wal-Mart doesn't have it!

I'm cooking orange chicken in the crockpot.

[cristeen]

In which case I would add about 2 Tbs of powdered and understand that the flavor is not quite the same. But that is a case where crystallized would probably work better, since the sauce is a bit sweet anyway, the sugar won't really effect it. Something I didn't think of before is if you can find pickled ginger, that would also work.

You can order jarred ginger in several different forms at ethnicgrocer, or Amazon has juice or whole root. If you can convince the root to sprout, you can grow ginger as a houseplant and just dig up a bit when you need it for a recipe.