Food - Drink
What To Consider Before Substituting Fresh Ginger With Powdered
By JEN PENG
Ginger has been used in food, drinks, and medicine for thousands of years, and today, shoppers have a few options to choose from when buying this special spice. When you don't have fresh ginger on hand or your ginger has gone bad, powdered ginger can be a lifesaving pantry staple, but it can't be swapped in at a 1-to-1 ratio.
Powdered ginger is spicier and more concentrated than fresh, so you'll want to use less ginger than your recipe calls for. McCormick suggests using ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger for every teaspoon of grated fresh ginger, while MasterClass recommends starting with ⅛ teaspoon of ground ginger and working your way up, tasting frequently.
Lastly, while powdered ginger can usually replace fresh ginger with no problem, the opposite swap doesn't always work; for instance, you shouldn't use fresh ginger instead of powdered ginger in baked goods. Instead, replace powdered ginger with ground or powdered cardamom, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice.