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I have a piece of raw ginger root which I bought a couple of weeks ago and stored in the produce drawer of my fridge. I always store my ginger root this way, and it remains usable for weeks. Today I pulled the piece out and discovered it looked and felt different:

  • It is a darker yellowish colour
  • It is flexible instead of crisp and brittle; I can bend it
  • It is damp, as if it had been soaking in water
  • It has a tangier, sharper ginger flavour than I remember from other ginger roots

I checked the produce drawer; it is dry.

I suspect that my piece of ginger has spoiled somehow. Does anyone recognise the signs? Am I right? If it is spoiled, is it a fluke of that specific piece, or am I storing it wrong?

P.S. Following the principle of "when in doubt, throw it out", I set it aside and won't be eating it.

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I suggest freezing it! –  lemontwist Feb 12 '13 at 11:02

2 Answers 2

up vote 1 down vote accepted

Here is how you can find out further if your ginger has gone bad in the fridge:

  • extra moist
  • skin will peel off easily when touched and texture is slimy
  • obvious blackish, dark yellowish skin
  • aroma is no longer the fresh one, but rather a ginger aroma covered by a sharp unpleasant earthy smell/mixed smell. You can notice it's going/gone bad.

You may cut it in half and check the inside still. If it looks fresh and smells fresh, then hard-peeling of the skin up to 2-3 mm can still leave you with good piece of ginger. But in order to store this now, you have to slice it, dry and put a zip lock. It can last for about a week.

Ginger is a root and there are ways you can store it without even freezing. I have had the luxury to dig a ginger root when needed. However for the recent years we had been storing it either outside, in an indoor soil basket or in the fridge. All are proven methods that many are successfully using. Otherwise I wouldn't want to blabber...

  • Keep unpeeled ginger root in an outside rack, e.g. an onion rack, or in a dry place that has proper ventilation. You will see it sprouts and/or dries a bit, but it can last with flesh inside up to a month. You can cut the portion you need and keep it back in this place. This way it doesn't get moist or turn into the texture that you encounter usually by storing in the fridge.

  • Make sure the root is not damaged by slugs. Get some soil/sand into a bucket, and bury it in it like how you can store winter veggies.

  • Store it in the fridge by wrapping it with a paper towel or a piece of paper or of thin cloth. Extra moisture will be absorbed by the wrapping.

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as long as it smells ok still use it.

In future mince it then freeze it in TSP portions, that way there is no waste.

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