The Surprising Reason Why You Should Never Ever Peel Ginger
I am almost never without a knob of fresh ginger in my refrigerator. It lends a kick to everything from soups to curries to roasted vegetables. It took me a while to make it a fridge staple, though — largely because I hated prepping it.
About 99.9% of recipes (including the ones on our site) ask you to peel ginger before mincing or grating it. If you’ve ever peeled ginger yourself you know this is a big old pain in the butt no matter how you go about it, whether you use a spoon or a vegetable peeler. So one day, out of sheer laziness, I just didn’t bother. I’ve never looked back since.
No, You Don’t Need to Peel Ginger
When asked on a team call recently what some of our biggest kitchen secrets were, a whopping majority of us food editors admitted to the exact same thing: We don’t peel fresh ginger before grating or mincing it, even if the recipe says to. Instead, I simply give my ginger a good scrub until cool water to remove any dirt, trim off any browned parts, then most typically use a Microplane to grate however much I need.
When grating, most of the skin kind of comes off on its own and if it comes off in larger pieces, I simply remove it from the grated flesh. If it doesn’t and gets mixed into the flesh, I don’t sweat it because it’s so fine, it won’t affect whatever I am preparing. The same goes for mincing. The thin ginger skin isn’t noticeable once it’s minced.
Not only is skipping peeling way easier, but it also cuts down on food waste and the skin actually has some good nutrients tucked inside so you’re reaping the benefits. It’s a win all around that we as food editors totally approve of.
