GINGER TIDBITS

When using fresh ginger, seek out the very freshest you can find, for the best flavor and the easiest handling. Choose young smooth, light-colored “knobs” with skin so tight and thin that you can scratch if off with your fingernail. (Older roots tend to be tough and fibrous and can have a strong, harsh flavor.)

Crystallized ginger is made by boiling slices of ginger in a sugar syrup, which causes the texture to become chewy and the flavor to both intensifiy and mellow at the same time. You can buy crystallized ginger in chunks or in flat slices. I prefer the latter, as it is easier to cut into the tiny pieces required in most recipes where it is used.

Here’s one of my favorite obscure culinary facts: Botanically, ginger is a distant relative of the banana. (Keep this in mind, just in case you’re ever quizzed on the subject.)