If you are not the most professional chef in the world, you may sometimes come across some confusing terms in your recipe books. What does ‘mincing’ mean? How do you mince a clove of ginger?
In this article, we will teach you all you need to know about mincing ginger. We have included two ways to do it, along with some other options that you may be interested in.
What Is Mincing?
Mincing is a concept used in the culinary world to describe the process of cutting something up into as few bits as possible without converting it into a purée, or a pulp. In other words, it is turning the product into smaller parts, but still keeping it in small, whole pieces.
If you cut the pieces too small, they will merge together to form an almost-liquid form. Mincing requires the pieces to remain solid. There is no standard size for mincing since it varies with the structure and consistency of different kinds of food.
When mincing ginger, however, you should aim to create segments that are around a 1/8 of an inch to a 1/16 of an inch in size. Mincing the ginger helps to evenly disperse the flavor across a whole meal, rather than supplying one large chunk of ginger in a single bite. Ginger is often used to enhance, not dominate, the different flavors of a recipe.
How To Mince Ginger
To Peel, Or Not To Peel
Before we look at some of the ways that you can mince ginger yourself, you may be wondering whether or not you should peel the ginger beforehand.
If you were to mince a clove of garlic, for example, you would need to remove the thin, papery exterior before you begin to cut it up.
This is because the garlic skin is not edible, and you need to remove it. Plus, if you mince the garlic with the skin still attached, you will end up creating more of a mess.
With ginger, however, the skin is edible. So, you have two options: you can either peel the skin off beforehand, or you can leave it intact, and continue to mince without peeling.
Some people prefer to mince their ginger after peeling, but if you don’t want to, you don’t have to! The choice is yours.
Slicing The Ginger With A Knife
Firstly, you will want to chop the ginger into round, coin-shaped pieces, slicing them quite thin. Then, once you have the individual pieces, you can slice them into horizontal slices. Then, slice again in the opposite direction, creating small cubes.
You can continue to cut the cubes even smaller if you want finer pieces, but it is up to you how finely you want to mince the ginger.
Crushing The Ginger With A Knife
Another method that some people use is crushing the ginger with the blade of a knife. You will want to be extra careful with this method, as you don’t want to chop off your fingers!
Again, you will want to chop the ginger into round pieces. Then, instead of cutting the coin-shaped pieces into slices, you will crush them. Take a knife, and place the blade sideways on top of the ginger.
Press down onto the side of the blade, crushing the ginger underneath it. This is also a great way to purée ginger if you would prefer it as a purée rather than being minced.
Minced Ginger Vs. Grated Ginger: Which Is Better?
Aside from mincing ginger, you can also grate it. This is, perhaps, the easiest option you could go for, as it is less time-consuming and requires less focus and precision.
You could use a standard cheese grater, but this will create larger chunks. If you want to create finer pieces, use a Microplane: this is a device that is used for zesting, but it can also be used to grate small products.
When grating ginger, it is more likely to become so finely separated that it will resemble pulp.
So, which is better out of mincing and grating ginger? Well, it all depends on the recipe you are following, and whether you want the ginger to be visible – and texturally – present in the meal.
It is worth noting that grated ginger is much more potent than minced ginger, so it all depends on how much flavor you want to release into your cooking.
How To Store Minced Ginger
When stored on the counter, ginger dries up quickly, and it only keeps somewhat slightly longer when stored in the fridge. This means that if you want the flavor to last as long as possible, you should use it up as quickly as feasible.
Ginger, thankfully, stores nicely in the freezer. You can store it in an ice cube tray with a teaspoon or two in each compartment if you’ve already minced it, and leave it in the freezer for up to a month.
If you wish to leave the whole root intact, you can wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it whole, or cut it into portions and wrap and freeze them separately.
Conclusion
So, there we have it: that is how you can mince ginger at home, and how to safely store it for future use. All you really need on hand is a sharp knife and a chopping board! Remember, if you would prefer a stronger flavor of ginger in your meal, you may be better off grating it instead of mincing it. It all depends on what the recipe requires, and how much you like the taste of ginger.
We hope you found our article helpful and interesting.
