This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosures.
Homemade Crystallised Stem Ginger (or Candied Ginger) is a spicy treat. Excellent as a little nibble with some coffee, an adornment to baked goods or given away as a beautiful sparkly gift.
Did you have a go at Homemade Stem Ginger in syrup already? If you have then you’ll be streaks ahead in this recipe as Homemade Crystallised Stem Ginger is pretty much the same method but with a couple of extra steps.
But first things first.
What is the difference between Stem Ginger and Crystallised Ginger?
In UK supermarkets the most commonly found ginger products in the baking aisles are Stem Ginger and Crystallised Ginger.
The ingredient known as Stem Ginger is balls of ginger preserved in a gingery syrup which I tackled in my previous recipe for Homemade Stem Ginger in Syrup. Crystallised Ginger is the same preserved ginger but it is dried and rolled instead in a coating of sugar.
Since Stem Ginger is kept in its syrup it’s a much softer ingredient and excellent baked into cakes, cookies or in savoury dishes where it adds a hot sweetness.
You can use Crystallised Ginger in exactly the same way but it has a firmer grittier texture and probably not recommended for savoury dishes due to its sugar coating. Crystallised Ginger is also the better candidate for the decoration of baked goods and really comes into its own as a standalone treat with a cup of tea.
Crystallised Ginger really is quite easy to make. You should follow all the simple steps to make the Stem Ginger in Syrup which includes an initial simmer in water to tenderise the ginger followed by a couple of hours cooking in sugar syrup.
However, whereas at this point you would decant the ginger with its syrup into jars for the previous recipe, here you remove the ginger from the syrup, dry it on a wire rack then roll in sugar.
Crystallised Ginger makes a stunning homemade gift, all golden and sparkly in its jar. Alternatively it could be displayed resplendent on a cheeseboard or served with your after dinner coffee.
Ways to use leftover ginger syrup
With this recipe you will be left with the most deliciously fiery ginger syrup which will really come into its own in your kitchen.
This is an amazing ingredient which can be used in a variety of ways in its own right, from creating deliciously moist and flavourful cakes to delicious Salted Ginger Fudge to salad dressings and marinades.
If you want to learn more about how to use your leftover syrup and have access to exclusive recipes then CLICK HERE >>> Leftover Syrup: Recipes & Tips.
If you like making your own Crystallised Ginger then you may also like these recipes:
Homemade Stem Ginger in Syrup
Homemade Mixed Peel
Homemade Glace Cherries
Homemade Lemon Powder
If you make this Crystallised Ginger recipe then please leave a comment below and/or give the recipe a rating. If you then go on to use this lovely ingredient as the VIP in your own baking or cooking creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your creations and variations of my recipes.
Homemade Crystallised Ginger
Ingredients
- 600 g fresh ginger
- 600 g granulated sugar + 100g extra sugar to roll
- 600 ml water
Instructions
Day 1
- Freeze ginger overnight to tenderise.
Day 2
- Remove the ginger from the freezer and wait for about 5-10 minutes for the ginger to warm slightly then peel and slice into pieces. There should be about 450g ginger after peeling and chopping
- Cook the ginger in a large saucepan with the lid on for 2½ hours in 1.4 litres water until the ginger is tender.
- Drain the ginger but reserve water.
- Then weigh the water, you will need about 600ml so add more water if it’s slightly less or pour some away if it’s more.
- Pour the water back into the saucepan and add the granulated sugar.
- Bring the water and sugar to a boil.
- Add the ginger back in and bring back to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Then cover the saucepan and leave overnight.
Day 3
- Place the pan back on the heat. Bring the ginger in syrup back to the boil and turn down to simmer with the lid on for 1-2 hours until the syrup is thick and the ginger is translucent and very tender.
- Remove the ginger with a fork onto a wire rack to cool and dry overnight.
- Roll the dry ginger in sugar and store in a sterilised glass jar.*
Hi, I now have retired to Madeira, and could not find either ginger products any where,, so thought I would have a go at your recipes, plenty of fresh ginger here,
Wow! can't stop eating it!
Thank you for that.
Edwin Anderson-Dove.
I'm so happy to hear that Edwin - thank you for your feedback!
Loving this. I did it with half brown sugar - it came out very dark and gooood.
I may have cooked it a bit long on the last day as the syrup is rock solid, but on warming it softens up again. Making more as I type!
The brown sugar sounds lovely!!!
Great recipe! We live in the tropics so I was worried about the humidity and it not drying out but it was fine. I did put it on a tray in a warm oven for 45 mins before rolling in sugar though and that helped! (after making bread, oven turned off). I made a double batch and it’s delicious. Was thinking of being energy efficient as the saucepan spends so long on the stove! Also you can’t buy crystallized ginger here and we love it so I knew we’d eat it if it worked. Thankfully it’s perfect! I took a little out to put in jars as stem ginger at that half way stage too, and I’ve not tried using that yet but looks great. We’re using the syrup to make ginger iced soda drinks, and ginger tea. I also mixed some syrup with vodka to make a ginger liquor. We’re half way through eating the crystallized ginger already and I only made it a few days ago! I’m just starting my second double batch now. I’m going to cover half of this next lot in dark chocolate rather than rolling in sugar. Thanks so much for a great recipe from a Brit living abroad!
That's such a pleasure! I'm so happy you like the recipe and that ginger liquor sounds delicious!!
thanks for the clear instructions - I am trying out crystallising starfruit - it is wonderfully acid and sweet - and with chile! yumm - I want to make something to go with aged natural cheese for our guests in our BnB in Santiago de Cuba. Ginger here is tiny - not the luscious huge roots you find in every grocery store elsewhere.
That's a pleasure. Crystallised starfruit sounds lovely!
Day 2 ...weigh the 600ml of water....weigh? Measure...
Day 3 ...simmer for two hours with lid on....not possible without covering hob with sticky liquid
Sorry Robin - I always weigh my water, so much easier and much more accurate. That's why I love digital scales so much!! Oh dear, is that because the liquid is bubbling over? Try at a lower simmer to avoid this.
Wow
That’s one fab recipe
Made this and came out so nice
First time I made christalised ginger and am so pleased
I’m trying the cherry one next
Thank you Georgina
All recipes are outstanding I tried so far ❤️
Thanks so much - recently purchased an Instant Pot and think I’ll have a go, experimenting with either pressure- or slow-cooking as these are good for avoiding burning sugary foods requiring long cooking.
Heather
Hi Heather, let me know if you give it a go!
This is a delightful recipe, but id you want an extra "kick", Add a thinly sliced lemon to the water and sugar, it adds a nice lemony tang to the ginger and syrup and the peel at the end is yummy too!
Oh this is such a good idea - I'll definitely be trying it when I make my next batch - thank you!
I made this a few days ago and it is delicious. I am doing online shopping at the moment and the root ginger that was delivered was in very small knobbly pieces so a bit of a pain to peel but once that was done it was very straightforward. The left over syrup seemed a little thin so once I had removed the ginger I boiled it up for a few minutes and it is now lovely and gooey. Had some on my porridge this morning - lovely. Thank you Georgina.
Hi Mary, that's lovely to hear! I'm happy you like the recipe.
Alas, followed the end of the recipe on day 3 for the longer time rather than the shorter time, burnt it and ended up in with rock hard ginger like a toffee apple (caramel apple for US readers) that can't roll in sugar and that I won't be able to give as a gift and I'll have to throw out the solid jar of what would have been the syrup. Other recipes seem to suggest a much shorter cooking time and more attention for the last bit. Would attempt again but it takes so long to prepare and then cook that I'm better off buying some now.
I'm very surprised at the result you had here. Please can I check whether you boiled it in the syrup with the lid on? There is usually so much leftover syrup that it's very unusual that it should turn rock hard. I'm happy to trouble shoot this recipe with you further.
I’ve been wanting to make both stem and candied ginger for a while and was surprised how simple, but a bit time consuming in a bits and pieces spread over days kind of way. The results however are worth it! I have a jar of stem ginger to replace the one I had in a posh hamper years ago and ration, but mine is nicer and bigger! I’m about to roll the candied ginger in sugar. I’m going to cover in dark chocolate and include in the Christmas hamper for my sister, our mum used to have a fancy box of crystallised ginger in chocolate every Christmas from my dad so will stir up some lovely memories.
That chocolate coated ginger sounds wonderful - so happy you enjoyed the recipes!!
I'm still confused... Followed recipe for stem ginger but wanted to make crystallised ginger with part of ginger. My ginger after all that cooking is still a bit hard, should I continue with day 3 for both types of ginger?
The ginger should still have a little bite - it doesn't turn completely soft. Though if it's very hard to the point of inedible then it's not right.
It was my first time making candied ginger and I it turned out pretty great! I'd appreciate some clarification on how big you sliced your ginger, and on what heat/how exactly I should cook the ginger at in step 2 of your recipe. Thank you for taking the time to post this, and I'm hoping to be able to make another batch again soon 🙂
Hi Natasha, that's great. You can see the sizes I cut the pieces of ginger in the photographs of the final version - they are about 1 inch pieces. To cook the ginger you place in a saucepan of simmering water with the lid on for 2 1/2 hours.
Hi,
I'm prepping for a big ginger day tomorrow !! Bit confused though looking at both your stem ginger in syrup recipe and your christallised one. you've said on this page
'Crystallised Ginger really is quite easy to make. You should follow all the simple steps to make the Stem Ginger in Syrup which includes an initial simmer in water to tenderise the ginger followed by a couple of hours cooking in sugar syrup"
And yet the recipe on the stem ginger page says nothing about cooking in the syrup the next day for 1-2 hours only dissolve sugar and water, add softened ginger and bring to boil again and simmer for 5 mins and thats it. Could you please clarify. Thank you !
Hi Claire, you are absolutely right. That is a typo within the text of the article. The recipe written within the recipe card is correct. I amended the recipe after writing the pre-amble. Thank you for flagging it, I shall amend. Do let me know if there is any further confusion.
What crackin' little webpage this is!
Some great recipes and techniques!
My family used to farm ginger back in the 70s, 80s and 90s and it's probably worth pointing out that "candied", "crystallised" and "stem" ginger are all exactly the same thing (you can check this on wikipedia), it's just that in the UK it is more commonly referred to as stem ginger (though most supermarkets in the UK now call it crystallised or candied (or sugared) ginger.
Keep up the good work!
Hi David, how wonderful coming from a family of ginger farmers!! When I refer to stem ginger it's usually in reference to the ingredient 'stem ginger in syrup'. When I talk about candied or crystallised ginger this is in reference to the dry ingredient.
Loved making this, the ginger was lovely and fiery. I covered mine in chocolate. Now friends and family are asking for me to share....SHARE, they are kidding right!
Yes! Covered in chocolate - so good!!!