Imagine this: You’re in-laws are coming and you want to prepare a healthy yet delicious for them, so you came up with this simple recipe: Steamed Halibut! All the ingredients are ready, except for one—fresh ginger!
As you head to the store to get one, you keep on wondering–where to find fresh ginger in the grocery store?
Short Answer:
But wait, how can you be sure if the ginger roots are still fresh?
We’ll share some of the best fresh ginger buying tips below, so keep on reading!
Where to Find Fresh Ginger in Grocery Store?
You can find different forms of ginger all over your grocery stores. But if you’re looking for the fresh ginger, the only aisle you need to check out would be the Produce Section.
In that section, you can find this sought-after spice besides other spices and herbs like onions, garlic, and chives.
If it isn’t there, you may also want to check out the rack where the fresh vegetables are.
Pro Tip: If you can’t find fresh ginger, you may want to go for the ginger paste which is also usually displayed in this area.
What Does Fresh Ginger Look Like In The Grocery Store?
If this is your first time buying one, you might have no idea what you’re looking for. To simplify the process, here’s what you need to know: fresh ginger has a finger-like shape with pale brown skin.
Where to Buy Ginger Root Near Me?
Almost all stores sell fresh ginger. But if you want to cut down on shopping time, you should go straight to any of these stores:
Asian Market
Since ginger is quite a staple in Asian cuisine, your best bet is to visit an Asian Market or grocery store. (*)
The best part about shopping for ginger in this type of market is you can easily find fresh ones since it’s a high-demand item in such markets.
Target
If you don’t have an Asian market near you, then you may want to head to Target. Because this is one of the most popular chain stores in the US, you may already have one near your location so it’s a big plus!
Walmart
Another widely available grocery store is Walmart. This store sells a wide range of products, including fresh spices like ginger.
Aside from fresh ginger, they also carry frozen ginger paste which is the perfect option for making smoothies, salad dressings, or soups. (*)
Pro Tip: You can order the product online via Walmart’s official website. Another option is to download their app to check the product’s location and availability.
Whole Food Markets
As the home to various nutritious and healthy food items, they certainly carry fresh ginger which is considered to be one of the highly beneficial spices in the market. (*)
Publix
Aside from their wide assortment of fresh produce, the thing we love most about this major retailer is their competitive prices.
Pro Tip: Aside from the fresh produce, you may also find spice in their baking section besides nutmeg and cinnamon.
Trader Joe’s
In addition to fresh ginger, this popular grocery shop is home to all types of ginger products including canned ginger, ginger snaps, and many more.
Amazon Fresh
This online marketplace is a branch of the popular Amazon shopping site. The difference is this is a grocery service that allows its customers to purchase their groceries online. Their staff will be the ones to pick up your order from the store and deliver it to your area.
In short, this is the website or app to visit if you want to get fresh ginger without having to step out of your house.
Why Use Fresh Ginger?
To be honest, ginger powder or paste is more widely available than fresh ginger. However, a lot of home cooks and chefs still prefer fresh options due to a lot of wonderful reasons. Here are two of them:
Flavor
Since the powder is a concentrated form, it delivers a more powerful flavor than the fresh one.
But here’s where they differ: Fresh ginger tastes a lot sweeter and has a more complex profile than the powdered version.
Nutrient Profile
It’s true that the spice’s drying and bottling process changes the spice’s nutrient profile. Because of this, fresh ginger contains higher amounts of gingerol as compared to the ground version.
Gingerol is a substance that promotes gastrointestinal motility and offers excellent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. (*)
How Do You Pick Fresh Ginger At The Grocery Store?
We have to be honest. Knowing the benefits of fresh ginger and where you can find it in the store is just half of the battle.
Once you get to the store, you may find a few pieces with questionable quality. Because of this, you’d need to learn how to choose the freshest items.
Here are two essential tips to help you with that:
Check the skin.
The first thing that you need to check out when choosing fresh ginger is the spice’s skin. The skin must be smooth and has no wrinkles. It shouldn’t look all dry and wrinkly.
Not only that, the skin must be thin enough that you can easily scrape it off using your fingernail. If the ginger has tough and thick skin, it means that it’s already old and all dried out.
Evaluate its consistency.
Fresh ginger root feels firm and shouldn’t sag when you press on it gently. Avoid those that feel too soft or mushy because it indicates that the spice has been there in the rack for quite a long time.
Pro Tip: We all know that ginger roots are sold as large hands. The good news is you don’t have to buy the whole hand—you can simply break off the size you need.
The good news is high-quality ginger root breaks off pretty easily.
Learn more: Does Ginger Go Bad?
What to Use in Place of Fresh Ginger?
If you can’t find ginger in any of the stores near you, here are some of the suitable alternatives you can use instead:
Other Ginger-based Options
Depending on the type of dish you want to make, you can choose from any of these substitutes:
- Frozen Ginger for any recipes that call for ginger slices.
- Minced Ginger, Ginger paste, or powder for stews, soups, and savory dishes.
- Crystallized or Candied Ginger for making baked goods.
Allspice
It’s a great option for making stews, soups, sauces, and a whole lot of savory dishes. Use only ½ teaspoon of allspice for every tablespoon of fresh ginger that the recipe calls for.
Cinnamon
If you’re looking for a ginger alternative for making baked goodies, this spice is your best bet. When using this, add only ¼ teaspoon for every 1 tablespoon of ginger.
FAQS
Final Words
Where to find fresh ginger in grocery store? The only aisle you’ll find fresh ginger is in the store’s Produce Section.
The good news is you can get it from almost all grocery stores. But to make the search a whole lot easier, you can order it online and have it delivered to your home.
Once you find it, make sure to inspect the spice’s skin and consistency to ensure that you’ll get nothing but the freshest produce in the area.
