Ginger ale: do I need to peel the ginger?

Because it sure is a PITA. I want to start a new batch tonight. I love the stuff. I go crazy with the ginger; using abut 3 times what Alton Brown recommends.

I'm wondering if I can just dump ginger into a food processor and save a lot of time.

Pretty sure you don't want the rind/peel/outside layer of the root in what you're making... Every application of fresh ginger, that I've ever seen has called for it to be peeled first...

Found the recipe on the Food Network web site...

Yes, you'll want to peel the ginger. If you use a big piece, it's easy to peel. Worse than peeling it is grating it!

I don't think I had any problem leaving the peel on. I did give it a wash and sliced off some of the more dried out areas, but just tossed it all into a juicer, and heated/strained the ginger solids before adding the juice in towards the end. Didn't have any problem, but I haven't yet done a comparison between skin on or off.

For cooking, I and my family rarely peel ginger for cooking purposes, and we use lots of ginger in our food. (As in almost every day.)

Younger gingers have thinner skin by the way.

A spoon works well for peeling ginger, better than a knife, especially if it's fresh. Grapefruit spoons have a bit of an extra edge as well.

if you have a juicer you can juice whole unpeeled ginger, i do this regularly for ginger beer. you will get really small particles of ginger coming through, these can be strained with a coffee filter if absolutely necessary but i never do this. you won't get any skin pieces coming through the juicer.
if you are blending and then straining off the ginger then i think you should use it whole, as i personally don't think that the skin influences the taste at all. it is just unpleasant to get chunks of it in your mouth. differing opinions on that issue are welcome of course!

I just made a batch the other day with it sliced, leaving the skin on. I never though of trimming it off. I also thew it in my hop bag, to not worry about any floaters.

I think I'll peel it, just to be safe.

jamesnsw said:

A spoon works well for peeling ginger, better than a knife, especially if it's fresh. Grapefruit spoons have a bit of an extra edge as well.

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+1... its actually not "that" bad to peel.... just time consuming. A spoon really works.

I guess it also depends on what kind of juicer you are using. I'm sure most any mid to high end Juicer can handle it. I use a simple 60 dollar Juicer and I was wondering the same thing. When I tried not peeling it, I got a few chunks of the skin in my juice, so I went back to peeling. If your Juicer can handle it and you don't see any dark chunks in the juice, you should be fine. Just make sure you rinse the ginger thoroughly first.

It's not like a lemon or other citrus where the pith adds bitterness. In fact if you notice a lot of cooks using microplanes to grate it don't bother peeling it. As long as the skin is clean to being with, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that you are breaking up the ginger, whether you are slicing it, macerating it in a food processor or chunking it. It's about breaking it up. And the skin contains a lot of flavor and aroma that you want in there anyway.

I peeled mine,just because charley said it would be earthy and taste bad if I didn't, but I think the fresher you buy it the better(get it like I did from the neighborhood asian store, its fresher and cheaper.)

If you slice the ginger into thick disks, peeling it is super easy with a paring knife. If you want to grate the ginger, it helps to partially freeze it first. A regular hand grater will make short order of partially frozen ginger.

I tried pealing and food processing, lots of work. Now I just wash it and then matchstick it with the peal on. I boil it and then let it cool over night. I can't tell the difference.

I don't peel it.

I cut it into chunks, then drop in boiling water for a few seconds. say about 30 sec. This should kill off any major nasties. Then I drop the chunks into the food proessesor. When it's chopped as finely as it will reasonably get, I add a little water. Then I hand squeeze all this through cheese cloth.. then strain it through a sieve.

Peeling the skin is too much work for me.

I've also simmered the chunks in a little water (enough to cover) and let it cool (1st bring to a boil, then simmer). This water is added to the food processor and used in the brew. Doesn't taste as sharp as the raw. I'd experiment with both methods but either way - no need to peel.