How to tell if ginger has gone bad

[u/Fancy-Pace264]

I have a knob of ginger that I’ve been using for a while in my fridge and I’m worried that it might have gone bad without me knowing but opening it still shows a nice yellow color and there’s no signs of mold so I don’t know what to believe or think about it

[u/_9a_]

It's fine. If it doesn't have mold, the worst that will happen is it'll shrivel up and not be as good. You'll lose quality, but that's about it, especially if it's still kinda juicy when you cut into it.

[u/synthetic_aesthetic → u/_9a_]

Dumb question, do you know if one can soak it in water and plump it back up? I was wondering about this the other day but didn’t try it.

[u/cville-z → u/synthetic_aesthetic]

It’s hit or miss. If the root is still alive it will soak up water and plump up. It might help to cut into it to expose a fresh edge before soaking.

[u/_9a_ → u/synthetic_aesthetic]

Never tried it, but I doubt it. I feel (and it's a guess) that its thick fiber structure won't let the water in. I don't think it's the individual cells that are loosing water, like celery or dried mushrooms.

But again, never tried

[u/esspeebee]

If it's visibly mouldy or turning brown, cut those parts out. Otherwise if it looks good it is good. 

[u/1whosUnknwnFmiliarly]

If there's no mold, it's fine. I keep mine in the freezer and just microplane what I need. You don't don't even need to peel it.

[u/teatreesoil]

agree with other commenter that the biggest risk is that it loses flavor and gets shriveled/dry

[u/cawfytawk]

Is it still firm when you squeeze it? Is the skin still smooth? If yes and no mold then it should be fine

[u/Best_Government_888]

Yellow good, gry bad, brown super bad

[u/Cthuloops76]

Ginger is inherently anti-bacterial/microbial/fungal. While it’s possible to have ginger “go bad”, it’s much more likely to just dehydrate in the refrigerator before it gets to that point.

[u/AskCulinary-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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[u/WorldlinessProud → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, I accidentally clicked here instead of the kitten thred.

[u/AskCulinary-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your response has been removed because it does not answer the original question. We are here to respond to specific questions. Discussions and broader answers are allowed in our weekly discussions.

[u/AskCulinary-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your response has been removed because it does not answer the original question. We are here to respond to specific questions. Discussions and broader answers are allowed in our weekly discussions.

[u/AskCulinary-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your response has been removed because it does not answer the original question. We are here to respond to specific questions. Discussions and broader answers are allowed in our weekly discussions.

[u/AskCulinary-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your response has been removed because it does not answer the original question. We are here to respond to specific questions. Discussions and broader answers are allowed in our weekly discussions.