If you've made your own pickled ginger/pickled sushi ginger, have you been able to source young, fresh, pink-tipped ginger root? Is there a time of the year (March, April?) when it's more likely to be available? I guess it's more likely found in the big cities than anywhere else.

We get fresh NZ-grown ginger here in Nelson in March. It's not easy to come by - one of our organic growers brings it to our Saturday market, but it gets snapped up very quickly, probably by the cafes.

Thanks Karena, that's helpful, especially in pinpointing when it is likely to be found. Some people on the internet just make it with the white (older) ginger and I'll give that a go I think. I nearly bought some today but the ginger in PnS looked the worst I've seen so I left it there.

Many moons ago, I was sure I had bought some fresh ginger but do you think I could find it? I thought I was going mad! Eventually something odd started to shoot in one of my vege beds. Turns out my dear daughter had decided to plant it without telling me! I hadn't realised that you could grow it here until then.

Well, I discovered by personal trial and error the reason they use young, fresh ginger for pickling is because the normal, older stuff we can get anytime from the supermarket is way too strong in flavour (and texture) to be suitable for pickling.

My preference is to buy The Ginger People Organic Sushi Ginger 190g glass jar (ingreds organic ginger 60%, organic cane sugar, organic rice vinegar, water, salt, acidity regulator (citric acid)) but it seems really hard to get. Has anyone been able to get this easily from their local stores? The only option that seems readily available is the Mama Sans sushi ginger and I don't want to use that (ingreds: Ginger, Water, Salt, Sweetener (Sorbitol), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid), Sweetener (Aspartame), Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Colour (Azorubine), Colour (Ponceau 4R))

I assume the Mama Sans one is what's used in all the shop-made sushi. Glad I don't eat sushi.....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/2020 02:36AM by J1.

That sounds great. They appear to sell on line.

[au.gingerpeople.com]

Edited to add: my only concern is that although they are an Australian company the ginger appears to be sourced from China.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/2020 04:04AM by TPANDAV.

Hi TPANDAV, yes I did buy a jar and am extremely pleased with it (online, from an Auckland shop, which is now sold out, like so many others online). It's delicious and delightful. Like you, the Made in China concerned me but, because there's absolutely no better alternative, I decided to accept rather than live with doubt about the "organic" nature of the product.

What I really wanted to buy the most was Ceres Organic Sushi Ginger - the Ceres website says this about it:
"The Spice Girls fell apart without Ginger – don’t let your sushi experience fall apart too. In this packet, you’ll find zesty and refreshing organic ginger. We have pickled fresh ginger root in shiso leaves, rice wine vinegar and sea salt – that’s it. No added sugar, fake dyes or low-quality vinegar. We like to keep food real. Aside from eating with sushi, you can flip this ginger into fried rice, toss it into a salad, or kapow it into a stir-fry – look at you go, you’re a sushi ginger ninja!"

But, unfortunately, Ceres have stopped making it and it's no longer available......

Oh, I should add, the Ceres one was Product of Japan and ingredient list was:
Ginger Root* 48%, Water, Rice Vinegar* (Rice*, Koji|(Aspergillus Oryzae)), Natural Sea Salt, Pickled Shiso Leaves* (Shiso Leaves* (Perilla Frutescens), Ume-su*, Natural Sea Salt)|(*Certified Organic)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/2020 04:20AM by J1.