SC - Candied Ginger

[Christina M. Krupp]

If we're talking about actual slices of fresh ginger root that have been 
boiled in sugar syrup -- there are good ones, and bad ones. I adore the 
good ones!!

The bad ones tend to be found on a high, dusty shelf in the Oriental Foods
section of a grocery store.  Often they're in a small red box, labelled
"crystallized ginger". The individual pieces are old and crumbly, dry in
texture, whitish, and rather tasteless. 

The good ones tend to be found in health-food stores in the dried-fruits
area, in clear plastic bags, sold by weight (about $3.99 a pound). They
feel fresher and thicker. You bite through the crusty sugar coating and
get to the golden ginger center, which has the texture of a slightly
fibrous jellybean. 

My favorite candied-peel maker (Hi, Hawise!) makes a wonderful candied 
citrus peel, but despite years of attempts, she had not succeeded in 
making a soft and toothsome version of crystallized ginger -- her product, 
although quite tasty, is dark and hard.

- -- Countess Marieke van de Dal
Mountain Freehold, East Kingdom