Stem ginger is a great way to add a spicy punch to a range of baked goods. But a little goes a long way, so what do you do with any leftovers you may have?
Can You Freeze Stem Ginger?
Yes, you can freeze stem ginger for up to 3 months. Portion the stem ginger, with its punchy sugary syrup, into an ice cube tray, top up with a little water and then freeze. Once the cubes are solid, you can pop them out and bag them up.
Do Does Stem Ginger freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Stem Ginger? Yes
How to Freeze Stem Ginger
Freezing stem ginger isnāt too tricky but there are a few steps you’ll need ot take if you want things to go well:
- Portion Into an Ice Cube Tray: Spoon portions of stem ginger, with syrup, into an ice cube tray. Don’t fill them up entirely but try to portion it out into equal quantities.
- Top Up with Water: Top each ice cube slot up with a little water. This will help the cubes to form into solid frozen cubes.
- Freeze: Carefully slide the ice cube tray into the freezer, avoiding any spillages. Sticky stem ginger syrup can be a right pain to clean up!
- Remove the Cubes and Bag Up: Once the cubes have frozen completely solid, pop the cubes out of the tray and into a freezer bag. Seal the bag up tightly.
- Return to the Freezer: Write a clear label on the bag and then return the cubes to the freezer.
3 Tips for Freezing Stem Ginger
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing stem ginger to have the best results:
Check the Bag’s Seal
Making sure that the stem ginger is sealed into the bag will prevent any juices from the ginger itself from leaking into your freezer and will also prevent the cubes from absorbing other odors from your freezer.
Keep the Syrup
The syrup is an essential element of stem ginger that balances out the spicy kick that the ginger adds to your dishes. You do not want to drain the syrup when freezing stem ginger. Instead, keep it!
Maybe Don’t Bother?
Stem ginger can only be frozen for around 3 months before the flavour degrades – that is the most important element after all. When stem ginger can be kept in the fridge for around 2 months, you have to question whether or not there’s any point in freezing stem ginger in the first place.
How Long Can You Freeze Stem Ginger?
You can freeze stem ginger for around 3 months without it degrading in quality noticeably. The main reason for this is that the ginger is unlikely to succumb to freezer burn, which would reduce the flavour of the ginger itself.
An unopened jar of stem ginger will keep in the cupboard for around 12 months. Once opened, however, it will need to be kept in the fridge, where it will last for around 2 months.
How Do You Defrost Stem Ginger?
The simplest way to defrost stem ginger is to place it in the fridge overnight. This should totally thaw the ice, leaving you with pieces of stem ginger in sugar syrup.
Alternatively, you could simply add the whole cube of stem ginger to your blender with other batter ingredients to make your cake.
Can You Refreeze Stem Ginger?
Yes, you can refreeze stem ginger.
The reason for this is that itās quite unlikely for stem ginger to garner any microbial growth over time. Therefore, even when thawed, itās safe to refreeze for as long as you might like. However, you may find that is loses its chew and become a bit softer.
Does Stem Ginger Freeze Well?
Yes, stem ginger does freeze well.
The tough, fibrous quality of the plant stem means that any element of it will freeze quite well, since the water molecules wonāt really degrade the tough structure. The only exception here is that the syrup will become watery.
Related FAQs
If youāve still got questions about freezing stem ginger or ginger in general, then these may help:
Candied ginger can be frozen for around 6 months but this isn’t much different to the time it can be stored in an airtight container. 
