246) HOT N’ SWEET GINGER CANDY

HOT N’ SWEET GINGER CANDY

SPECIAL HOT N’ SWEET THROAT LOZENGES

Ingredients:

     1)    Fibrous ginger solids, set aside while making hot n’ sweet ginger syrup (see my recipe) – 500 gm. (approx.)

     2)    Sugar – 500 gm.

     3)    Jaggery (unrefined cane sugar) – 500 gm.

To Make:

          Put the sugar and the jaggery into a thick vessel. Pour in 50 ml. of water and set on low heat. Stir till the jaggery and the sugar are fully melted. Put the ginger solids into a thick, wide wok. Sieve the melted jaggery-sugar liquid and pour it in. Set the wok on high heat. Use a thin, flat ladle to stir the mixture continuously. Take care not to let the mixture burn at the base. You may need to stir for around 30 to 40 minutes to get rid of all moisture.

          You can notice the mixture turning whitish and translucent as you stir and turn it over. This means that the candy is ready to set. Switch off the heat. Put a sheet of butter paper on a wooden table. Scoop up the mixture with the ladle and place it all at the center of the butter paper. Put another sheet of butter paper on top of the mixture. Use a rolling pin to flatten the mixture to a thickness of around 1 cm. Peel off the butter paper from the top of the candy. Use a strong, sharp knife to cut the candy to pieces of any shape you like while it is still warm and soft. Spread out the bits on a platter to cool. When cool, transfer to an airtight glass jar.

          Your hot n’ sweet ginger candy will keep for months at room temperature.

Enjoy!!!

Note:

          Although it is possible to make nice ginger candy using just the concentrated ginger juice, I have intentionally selected the fibrous solids of the ginger for health reasons as well as for thrift since it takes a lot of patient time and effort to peel a kilo of ginger. Moreover, the balance of sugar and jaggery makes the candy softer and tastier than when one uses sugar alone. The fact that you are using fibrous ginger solids devoid of most of the juice also saves a lot of time in the cooking process. It is a comfort to carry with you hot n’ sweet ginger candy when you have a cold or a sore throat as it gives you both a hot as well as a soothing feeling at the same time. Sucking on a candy or two after a heavy meal will aid digestion.