Finally tried freezing ginger root and I'm kind of shocked

I was always one of those people who bought fresh ginger, used like a third of it, then watched the rest turn into a shriveled mess in the crisper drawer. My friend Sarah swore up and down that freezing it whole works, but I figured the texture would go weird and the flavor would fade. About two weeks ago I had a half-used knob about to go bad, so I just threw it in the freezer in a ziploc bag on a whim. Yesterday I pulled it out to make a batch of lentil soup, grated it straight from frozen with a microplane, and honest to god it tasted exactly like fresh ginger. No mush, no loss of heat, and I didn't have to peel it since the skin scrapes right off. Has anyone else had good luck freezing other fresh ingredients like lemongrass or turmeric this way?

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matthewh282h ago

I don't know, I tried freezing ginger and it just wasn't the same for me. The flavor was definitely there but I noticed the texture got kind of watery and stringy once it thawed. Maybe it works if you're grating it straight from frozen into a soup or stir fry, but I had a piece I let sit out for like 20 minutes and it turned into a soggy mess. I also had some lemongrass in the freezer and it basically turned into flavorless straw after a month. Different strokes I guess, but I'll stick to buying smaller pieces more often. What makes you think the flavor doesn't degrade over time?