Dealing with hassles of preparing Garlic, ginger... things you need almost everyday

[Stagemomma]

Originally Posted by reneeh63

You can get big jars of garlic paste and ginger paste in any asian/indian grocery store - just use by the spoonful and store in the fridge forever (almost!). Maybe $3-$4 for 8 ounces.

You can also buy it in small tubes in the produce department of most grocery stores.

I've never looked back.

[Harpaint]

Originally Posted by saibot

I cut a ginger root into small pieces and freeze them in a bag. I pull one out when I need it. The pieces thaw quickly, and because the texture has changed by being frozen, it's easy to squeeze all the juice out with my fingers. I just squeeze it straight into the pan. If you want small pieces of ginger in your food, this wouldn't work. But if you just want the fresh ginger flavor, it works very well!

Great idea. I'll try this!

[steiconi]

Thanks, saibot, for the tip on freezing ginger, I'm going to try that.

Thin garlic presses will distort or break if you use ginger in them. I've killed several.

I have a large, heavy cast aluminum Ekco-brand garlic press that can press unpeeled garlic or ginger. It has an effective hole-cleaner built into it. I got it for $1 at a thrift store. I have another from Pampered Chef that does a good job, but the cleaner was a separate piece, and I lost it. $15, 15 years ago, I think.

Recipe: Quick Tomato-Ginger Salsa; all amounts to taste
chopped fresh ripe tomatoes
minced garlic
minced ginger
chopped green onions
salt
sugar
optional: lemon or lime juice

soooooo good!

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by Debsi

It's pretty easy - you can just stack the leaves and roll them up (the long side). While holding the basil rolled together with one hand, you slice it with a sharp knife to make beautiful basil ribbons in seconds.

Originally Posted by jay5835

It's called a chiffonade. Here, the Pioneer Woman chiffonades some basil: How To…Chiffonade Basil | The Pioneer Woman

Huh. Learned something new. I would never have thought of that.

[Debsi]

Originally Posted by noregon98

Pretty easy too.

You just gotta use a paring knife that's sharp enough to cut the garlic but not fingers utilizing the same technique as doing onions and garlic on flat surface, although I think I do mine in different order, for better or worse.

Holding the knife horizontally, I go into the garlic east>west first (starting from the top of the garlic), then holding the knife vertically I make north>south cuts across it. Finally, I do a cross-cut starting underneath, bringing and stopping the blade with my knife thumb as the tiny pieces fall into the pan/food. Totally easy when you start at a speed that is easy stay on course and not dig into any digits that are used for backing.

Easy is relative.

I personally could never make this happen without band-aids getting involved. I've always admired my mom's air-cutting technique on strawberries, avocados, etc.

[TabulaRasa]

Originally Posted by Debsi

It's pretty easy - you can just stack the leaves and roll them up (the long side). While holding the basil rolled together with one hand, you slice it with a sharp knife to make beautiful basil ribbons in seconds.

This, but using kitchen shears. So easy.

[Beretta]

Great thread. Seeing as how it has started to go off topic it's time to close.