"Hairy" ginger

[vivacity]

I'd be grateful for any help out there regarding a small problem that I have when I use fresh ginger in the TMX. Today I made a ginger salad sauce and as usual the ginger went "hairy", i.e. DH complained about the texture of the dressing. Is it because my blades aren't sharp enough? I'm planning to do a lot of raw food within the next few weeks and there are going to be problems with my co-eaters if they constantly have to fish ginger strands out of the salad....

Thanks in advance!

[andiesenji]

An inexpensive ginger grater is your best solution.  This removes the pulp from the ginger and leaves the fibers behind.

Otherwise you have to slice ginger very, very thin (I use a microplane slicer) across the grain so the fibers are extremely short.
By thin, I mean less than 1/16th of an inch or whatever the metric equivalent is.

[Thermomixer]

It is because the ginger is a bit older - it will be stringy even done the way andie suggests.  think you may have some more success by freezing it first - but best to grate it and pass through a strainer.

Cutting it into thin strip across the grain (pain in the backside) before grating will help too as the strings go along the ginger.

[vivacity]

Thanks to you two for answering. I'm going to try out both suggestions, I was given a ceramic ginger grater ages ago and Thermomixer's suggestion sounds good, too

[Bonsai]

I think younger or fresher ginger seems less hairy - the longer I take to use mine the hairier it is (probably begins to dry out a little and ? hairs get more obvious). I've started freezing ginger in 2-3cm pieces - about enough for one meal. This then blitzes very easily in the TMX (no hairs at all!) or can be grated - I use a microplane grater which I also use for zesting, which grates without any hairiness.

[andiesenji]

When using a ginger grater, you don't even have to peel the ginger.  I just cut of the little "toes" and grate away.

I plant the toes as I grow a lot of my own ginger - it grows beautifully in pots, even in cold climates.  I have a friend in Canada who grows ginger in window sill planters during the winter and moves the planters outside during the summer. 
Ginger is very hardy and if you want to see how it is progressing, just yank it out of the pot and look at it.   When I need only a little piece, I just pull up the entire plant, break off as much of the rhizome as I need and stick it back in the planter.  (I do all of my gardening in large pots and planters.

[CreamPuff63]

thats interest andiesenji. I saw some fresh tumeric in the supermarket today, could you do the same with that?

[cookie1]

Thanks Andie. I've always wanted to try and grow ginger since I saw it growing in Queensland.

[vivacity]

That's a really good idea about growing your own ginger!

[judydawn]

Yes it is, let's all try it and see who is successful.

[Cornish Cream]

Andie do you need any special type of compost to grow the ginger?

[andiesenji]

I grow it in very sandy/loam potting mix.  I use a regular potting mix and add to it 1/3 of the volume in "sharp" sand - that is the sand used in building (washed) not the sand used in playgrounds or sandboxes.  Decomposed granite is also okay - your local garden center probably has a similar product but I have no idea what it would be named in OZ.

It should be a potting mix that stays loose and doesn't pack down firmly,

The pot should be wider, rather than deep, because the rhizomes grow horizontally.   Each plant should be in the center of a pot 12 inches wide and 8 inches deep for best growth and the roots should be planted about 1 inch deep.

Each segment of a ginger root will sprout and grow.  Break off all the small "toes" and placed them loosely in a plastic bag and leave it open on your kitchen counter.  After a week (or sooner if it's warm) you should see some little sprouts forming.  When they are half an inch long (or longer if you wish) they can be planted. 
Since it's winter in  your area, place the pots in a window where they can get some sun each day and where the temp doesn't get too cold.  If  your house is dry, place a plastic bag tent over the pot to help maintain temp and moisture. (Like a mini greenhouse.)

Here's a link to an eGullet discussion on growing ginger in Canada.
Growing Ginger

[Cornish Cream]

Thanks Andy for the wonderful detailed reply.It's summer here in the U.K, so I might give this a go as I have some ginger that might be ideal for the job.

[judydawn]

Then you can tell us all how you went Cornish Cream  Be a while before the warmth returns to us down south.