Clearly it has enough vinegar (assuming 5% vinegars are used) since it is straight vinegar. But the processing time needed and even if the ginger would hold up to the heat of the processing or turn to mush are unknowns.

Every pickled ginger recipe I can find is for refrigeration only, not canning. Since so many sources indicate that pickled gingers can be stored in the fridge for up to 6 months why not just make up the small jars of it and gift them with instructions for "Store in the fridge"?

Dave

I checked Joy of Pickling and all of her recipes for pickled ginger are refrigerated, although it's also true hers are not 100% vinegar.

I am guessing it's a quality issue, not a safety one, as the ginger is sliced paper thin.

Since your recipe is 100% vinegar, you could give it a shot on a trial basis.

The website I linked to below does provide a similar 100% vinegar/sugar recipe with canning instructions. The site is run by a Santa Barbara Master Food Preserver, so that combined with the fact there's no water dilution should assure a safe product. You might want to try her smaller batch to see how you like the results.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Canning Pickled Ginger

Thanks for the replies and advice.

digdirt: The problem is I have a large quantity of ginger now. I have already candied some and made Helen Witty's Preserved Ginger in Syrup (which is just wonderful over vanilla ice cream). I don't really have refrigerator space to store jars until Christmas - and that seems like a long time anyway.

Carol: Thanks for vouching for the link. I had seen this - as well as another canned pickled ginger recipe on another blog - but I tend to be careful about canning recipes off blogs that I know nothing about. I think I will try a small batch to see how things come out.

Elaina

If she is a MFP, then why is she canning tomato soup with Clear Jel ? NO tomato products are safe to thicken before canning. This makes me concerned about her site.

Elaina - have you ever tried drying it? Dried ginger stores for ages and reconstitutes easily.

If you do can it let us know how the texture/consistency turns out, ok?

Dave

I saw that ClearJel thickened soup. Perhaps her local Extension OK'd it. Doesn't mean I'd can it myself; however, it's always an option to email the person herself and see how she arrived at that recipe and who vetted it. I wouldn't automatically exclude or include based only on the information provided.

However, in this case we're talking about ginger in 100% vinegar, not soup thickened with ClearJel, and I just can't see a problem. I might can it if I had sufficient to justify.

I think one reason we're not generally seeing canning recipes for something like pickled ginger is it's not a high-demand product. It makes sense that someone in Santa Barbara would give it a shot.

(This is not a blanket OK to can ginger, as it is a low-acid product. Ginger preserves, for instance, would require acidification not unlike pepper jelly, and I have not run across an approved recipe outside the commercial food preservation world.)

Carol

I had tried this a couple of years ago. I didn't like the finished product - the fibrous part got kinda rubbery/tough and the fleshy part got mushy.

A couple of caveats - I never get really fresh ginger. What's available at the grocery store probably isn't the best in the world, but it works fine in the refrigerated recipes. And a friend brought me a bottle of Rice Vinegar back from Japan - the only thing I could read on the label was "5%" LOL. It was much stronger tasting (and just overall different tasting) than the 4% stuff we get around here. So that could have been another reason. I didn't use any other types of vinegar in it as in the China Moon recipe, which sounds really good - thanks for posting it.

Hope you try canning it - let us know how it turns out.

Off topic, but if anyone has seen a source or brand in the US for 5% acidity rice vinegar, please let me know. I have looked in many markets including the big Asian grocery stores in NY, and rarely see any above 4%. Would love to sub it out in other pickle recipes where that flavor would make things more interesting.

Thanks
Carrie

Carrie,
Not at the retail level. I did find one company that sells 50 grain which is 5% - only problem is I'd have to buy a 55 gallon drum of it. That's a lot of pickled ginger :-)

I saw this last week on Linda Z's blog site about a rice vinegar maker wanting to get into the home canning market.

Here is a link that might be useful: Linda Z investigates Rice Vinegar for home use

Wow! That conversion formula is gold.

Once again Linda Z to the rescue.

Carol