Ginger is one of those ingredients that can be a bit polarizing. While it's a classic component of everything from beloved sweets like gingerbread
The level of potency you can expect may be hard to gauge however, and it can be tough to know if you should expect a hefty dose of heat or a mild
And while a number of factors can impact how ginger is expressed in a dish, if you're preparing a recipe that calls for the rhizome
one useful piece of information is understanding which form of it — ground or fresh — is going to pack the most punch.
Perhaps it may surprise you to know that it's the powdered kind.In fact, you may need as little as ⅛ of a teaspoon of ground ginger to equal 1 tablespoon of the fresh stuff.
The flavor is also subtly different, as the fresh root is a bit sweeter and less peppery than what you get with ground,
Regardless of whether you decide to use fresh or ground ginger, one of the major factors that will determine potency and flavor is freshness.
If you have a dusty old jar of ground ginger, it's likely not going to deliver much of anything taste-wise