Do I need to peel ginger before using it? How to properly get rid of thin skin?

Many housewives today do not know how to peel ginger, thereby unknowingly depriving themselves of an impressive portion of useful components and essential oils.

These substances are found in the precious pulp, close to the peel, so choosing the right tool is very important. Some people still cannot decide whether it is necessary to get rid of the root skin at all, if it is so thin and capricious. As practice shows, the correct answer to these questions is the key to obtaining the desired taste and aroma of the dish.

Do I need to peel ginger to make tea, jam, and other culinary delights?

Before peeling ginger, you need to decide for what purpose the product will be used. In this case, the following rules are used:

1. Ginger for tea, refreshing drinks, candying and pickling does not need to be peeled. Otherwise, the product will lose the delicate taste that the cook is counting on.
2. If there is no goal of using the entire root in the next few hours, then we do not peel off the skin. It is better to cut off the required amount of product and clean it.
3. Root vegetables, the pulp of which will go directly into food, must be peeled. Without appropriate chemical exposure or long-term heat treatment, the skin will be ordinary dirt, devoid of all useful components.

Tip: It is strictly prohibited to purchase already peeled ginger root in a store, even if the product is vacuum-packed and looks very attractive. Such products contain practically no useful components and are absolutely useless for enhancing the aroma of tea.

Effective and gentle methods for cleaning ginger root

Cleaning ginger begins with preparing the root vegetable. It must be thoroughly rinsed in cool water (warm liquid will negatively affect the condition of the product) and dried. Next, take a sharp knife and carefully cut off all the bulges and branches from the tortuous formation. Small ones can be thrown away, large ones can also be used for cleaning, but it is better to use them to enhance the taste of jam, tea or lemonade.

Ginger root can be peeled using one of the following methods:

• Using a spoon. The simplest and most gentle processing option, which is effective only on very ripe products. During cleaning, only the skin itself is removed and the nutritious pulp is not affected. We hold the root in one hand and the spoon in the other, with the thumb placed on the convex side of the instrument. We begin to scrape off the peel with confident movements, acting strictly in one direction. The depth of impact should be minimal.

• Using a knife or straight razor. In this case, you need to act in the same way as in the method with a spoon, but the movements need to be performed as superficially as possible. The tool should be as sharp as possible. You should not try to peel ginger root like a potato, this way you can remove all the beneficial components.
• Using a vegetable peeler. We use the tool in the traditional way, but be sure to control the thickness of the cut skin, it should not exceed 1-2 mm. Only high-quality new vegetable peelers or special slicers are suitable for this method.
• Using steel wool. Take a washcloth designed for cleaning pots. It must be new, unused, and made of very thin wire. Place the ginger in a bowl of cool water and after a minute begin to rub the surface of the product. First we try to act in one direction. Only if this approach does not give the desired result, we begin to rub more intensely and change direction. The main thing is to maintain the same pressing force, otherwise you can cut the root in several places, depriving it of a significant part of the aromatic oils.

• Using a thick brush. We take a toothbrush of maximum hardness, place the ginger root under running cool water and begin to rub the skin with active movements and light pressure. The approach may take a lot of time, but the end result will be the most optimal. With such an effect, only excess layers are removed, the pulp remains unaffected, so ginger retains the maximum amount of essential oils and beneficial components.

These recommendations are conditional. To determine the correct approach, you can try both options for using ginger - with and without peel. Both approaches to using the product are absolutely safe for health and do not cause any side effects.