How To Dehydrate Ginger And Make Ginger Powder
Step-by-step guide to dehydrating ginger root in a food dehydrator or in the oven. Includes the snap test for doneness, conditioning, storage instructions, and directions for grinding into homemade ginger powder. Shelf-stable for up to 12 months.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs fresh ginger root
Instructions
Prepare Ginger:
- Wash each piece of the root well. Assess the skin, if its tough and woody it should be peeled, and if its soft enough to scrape away with your fingernail it’s fine to leave.
- Slice the ginger into consistently thin sized pieces or finely dice. It can be helpful to use a mandolin or food processor for this part of the process.
Dehydrate Ginger:
- Spread ginger slices or mince into a single layer on dehydrator racks.
- Dry at 100f for 5-7 hours, or until completely dry. To test for doneness, remove a piece of ginger from the dehydrator and allow it to cool to room temperature before bending it. If the ginger is brittle and snaps cleanly, it is completely dry, but if it bends without snapping or is still pliable it must be returned to the dehydrator and dried longer.
Store + Condition:
- Once the ginger is completely dry, allow the racks to cool in the dehydrator for 30-45 minutes before transferring to long term storage containers. This allows the heat to dissipate and reduces the chances of condensation forming in your storage container.
- While the dried ginger pieces are in their airtight storage containers, shake the jar each day or so for the first week and observe the container for signs of moisture:- If there are no signs of moisture, you’re good to go, place them in a cool dark place for long-term storage!- If there is evidence of moisture in the container, you must add the ginger back to the dehydrator and dry it longer. After they’ve been dried the second time, you’ll need to go through the conditioning process again.
Homemade Ginger Powder:
- Add cooled ginger pieces to a spice grinder or a high powered blender. I like to use my dry goods container for my Vitamix for this process!
- Pluse the dried ginger in bursts until they are mostly broken down and then blend until completely smooth. It may be beneficial to work in batches, and to scrape down the sides of your grinder / blender occasionally, as the grinding process can create heat and cause clumping.
- Pass the powder through a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl to ensure only powder is going into your spice jar and either return any chunky pieces to the grinder or transfer to their own jar for use in recipes that don’t require powdered ginger.
- Set a funnel over your spice jar and pour the filtered ginger powder into your spice jar.
