Stem ginger may not look glamorous but it adds incredible flavor to baked goods and you can use the syrup as flavoring too. Make a batch today and use it in recipes that call for ginger. You’ll be glad you did!

Sometimes you stumble across something that is a game changer. Stem Ginger is one of those things.

I was looking for new gingerbread recipes and found a bunch that called for “stem ginger.” I’d never heard it it before so I looked it up.

Stem ginger is candied ginger in its own syrup. If you’ve ever made your own crystallized ginger or candied citrus peel, the process is pretty much the same.

The difference is that you keep the syrup. And that’s a big difference. The syrup is great as a flavoring in baked goods (use it like vanilla) or drinks.

Want to make an amazing cup of chai? Use stem ginger syrup.

You can mince stem ginger up and substitute it 1:1 for ginger powder. It adds a little chewy element to your baked goods and the little chewy bits have a little bite to them. Perfect for fall recipes.

Ginger also helps calm an upset stomach. Add some to hot tea if you’re not feeling well.

The toughest part of making this is peeling the ginger. You can actually skip that step if you don’t want to bother. Freezing the ginger overnight softens it and makes the skin easy to scrape off. I just rubbed the thawed ginger with a spoon and the skin came right off.

This recipe makes a small batch and it’s not canned so you should keep it in your refrigerator. A little goes a long way so it took me about 6 months to use mine up.

You can easily double, triple, quadruple, this recipe if you want to give some for gifts. Your friends will thank you and it’s so easy and inexpensive to make!

Yield: Enough to fill an 8 ounce jar.

Stem Ginger

Name: Stem Ginger
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 40 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 11-12 ounces of ginger (2 big roots); 2 quarts water; 1 1/2 cups sugar

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients

11-12 ounces of ginger (2 big roots)
2 quarts water
1 1/2 cups sugar

Instructions

Freeze the ginger overnight. Then peel and cut into small pieces.
Place water and ginger in a 3 quart pan. Bring to a boil and boil uncovered for 1 hour.
Remove the ginger. Measure the liquid and add enough water to make 1 cup (if necessary).
Put the liquid back in the pot and add the sugar. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a slow boil. Boil for 20 minutes or until the syrup thickens.
While the syrup is boiling, slice the ginger pieces if you want (I like mine sliced for easier portioning in recipes). Put the ginger back into the syrup and boil for another 20 minutes.
Transfer to a clean jar. Store in the refrigerator.

Looking for other homemade gifts?