Whether you’re new to juicing or you just haven’t ventured into juicing ginger before, you might be wondering about the preparation process.
You probably know that ginger has a thick, rough skin that wouldn’t taste too delicious in a freshly prepared juice. But does this skin need to be peeled off before juicing, or can you add it straight to your juicer? No! , There’s no need for you to peel ginger before juicing it.
In this guide, I’ll be offering my tips and advice on peeling ginger before juicing, why you might want to, and sharing the best practices for preparing fresh produce to make ginger juice.
🤔 Should You Peel Ginger Before Juicing?
Do you peel ginger before juicing? You don’t actually need to peel ginger before adding it to your juicer, because the machine will separate the skin from the ginger itself.
However, peeling ginger does have its benefits, which I’ll be discussing below. If you choose not to peel your ginger, make sure to examine it for mold and wash it thoroughly before adding it to your juicer.
When deciding whether to peel ginger before juicing, it’s worth thinking about the cleanliness of the ginger skin that will make it into your juicer. While the skin will be separated from the ginger, any dirt, mold, pesticides and herbicides may leach into your juice, affecting its quality and overall health properties.
💡 Why Peeling Ginger is a Good Idea
You don’t need to peel ginger before juicing. However, there are a number of advantages of doing so that are worth being aware of.
Leaving the skin on your ginger is certainly an easier option, and creates less work for you. But the few added nutrients in ginger skin aren’t worth leaving it on for. You’ll still get the majority of health benefits from the ginger itself, including:
- Digestive support
- Reduced heart disease risk
- Relief from cold and flu symptoms
- Anti-inflammatory properties
- Anti-nausea effects
- Lowered blood sugar
Removing the skin from your ginger has its own benefits, which are closely tied to the age of the ginger.
Fresh Ginger
Fresh, younger ginger tends to have a thinner, easier-peel skin. This skin is easiest for your juicer to remove, should you choose to leave it on.
However, it’s worth keeping in mind that thinner ginger skin acts as less of a protective barrier against chemicals, herbicides and insecticides that may have been used during crop production. These chemicals have been linked to cancer, birth defects, and other worrying health conditions.
It’s important to wash your ginger thoroughly, whether you choose to peel it or not, to remove any lingering pesticides and ensure your ginger doesn’t add anything nasty to your juices.
If you get your ginger from an organic farm that doesn’t use chemicals, or you grow your ginger yourself, it’s up to you whether you choose to remove the skin. As I mentioned, thin ginger peel is easy for a juicer to process, and you may be interested in the additional nutrients this skin offers.
Older Ginger
Older ginger has a thicker, tougher skin. This type of ginger peel is much more of a challenge for your juicer to process. When your juicer has to work harder, heat buildup and oxidation are common side effects – and both of these can have an impact on the overall quality of your juice.
Thicker, older ginger peel also tends to have a stronger bitter taste that may affect the flavor of your juices. Even worse if your piece of ginger has been sitting in the fridge for over a week and has taken on a stale flavor from storage.
As with new ginger, peeling the skins from old ginger will remove any ingrained dirt, dust, and chemicals that may have built up on the skin during farming. I would recommend that you peel ginger before juicing if you’re using older ginger, for taste and health reasons.
✔️ How To Prepare Ginger Root For Juicing
To prepare ginger for making ginger juice, here’s what you need to do:
1. Clean Your Ginger
Before even thinking about whether you need to peel ginger for your juice, you should start by cleaning it.
Cleaning is important even if you plan on peeling the ginger before adding it to your juicer. This precautionary measure will remove pesticides and dirt from the vegetable.
While you’re cleaning, you should take the time to inspect your ginger for mold. This is particularly important if you don’t plan to remove the ginger peel, as the skin will make it harder to detect mold, and you may end up juicing a moldy ginger root as a result.
2. Peel Your Ginger
The next step, if you choose to, is to peel your ginger. There are many practices you can use to speed up the process of peeling ginger and make it less of a chore. I’ve discussed these below.
3. Chop And Juice
Finally, I would recommend chopping your peeled or unpeeled ginger before adding it to your juicer. Cutting your ginger into small slices will reduce the risk of the root vegetable getting caught in your juicer machine.
You don’t need to cut your ginger into tiny chunks, but small, fingernail-sized pieces are much easier for your juicer to process. Remember that juicers can also make easier work of peeled ginger, so if you’re keen to look after your machine, I would definitely recommend peeling before chopping.
⏩ How Do You Peel Ginger Quickly?
When peeling ginger, most of us use the tool we’re most familiar with: a standard vegetable peeler. However, this peeler isn’t actually the best item for peeling ginger.
Instead, the better alternative is to use a spoon. To peel ginger with a spoon, hold the ginger in your hand and press it down against your chopping board. With your other hand, use the spoon to peel the ginger from top to bottom. The skin should scrape away easily.
If you’ve never tried this method, I advise you to give it a go. It doesn’t seem probable that peeling ginger with a spoon would be faster than peeling it with a peeler, but you’ll be surprised at just how much more effective the spoon method actually is.
An alternative to using a spoon is to use a paring knife to peel your ginger. The problem with this method is that you may lose a small amount of ginger, as you’ll be cutting in straight lines. However, it does make it easier to slice your ginger at a later point.
🧽 Should You Wash Ginger After You Peel It?
Now you know more about whether you need to peel ginger before juicing. But do you need to wash your ginger root once you’ve peeled it?
It’s not an essential step, but I would recommend washing your ginger as an extra precautionary measure, which will remove any lingering chemicals and dirt that may have made it beneath the skin. For the cleanest, healthiest ginger juice, wash your peeled ginger before you use it.
😋 Does Peeling The Skin Change The Flavor?
We all know the unique, slightly bitter, spicy flavor of ginger. If you can’t get enough of this flavor, you probably want to ascertain that removing the peel from your ginger root won’t affect its flavor.
The good news is that the inside of your fresh ginger should taste virtually the same as the outside. This means that peeled ginger will add the same flavor to your juice recipes as unpeeled ginger.
The skin on old ginger can be particularly bitter, so if you choose to use unpeeled ginger with a thicker, older skin, the bitterness may be unpleasant. Peeling the ginger will retain the flavor while reducing the intensity of the bitterness.
👍 What Can I Do With Ginger Skin?
If you juice ginger every single morning, you might feel guilty about throwing out the skin. You can use ginger skin for a variety of cooking purposes, though, so don’t be so quick to toss it.
Some of the popular uses of ginger skin are as follows:
Make ginger tea
Ginger tea is said to have a whole host of health benefits – and it’s also one of the best soothing beverages to drink when you’re nauseous. Simply brew ginger peels in boiling water for five minutes, add a dash of lemon, and wait to cool before drinking.
Steam with veggies
Steamed vegetables are a bit plain on their own, and spices like ginger can add a new dimension to your dish. Simply add your leftover ginger peels to a pot of steaming veggies and remove when they’re ready to eat.
Bake sweet treats
There are plenty of recipes that feature ginger as a main ingredient. But if you’re just trying to use up your ginger peels, there are recipes for this, too. From ginger cookies to cakes, there are countless ways to use up your leftover ginger skins in a tasty sweet dish.
Add to salad dressings and marinades
To add a bit of heat to your salads, try finely chopping ginger peel and including it in salad dressings. You can also add ginger peels to marinades for meat and stir fry dishes.
❔ Which Type Of Juicer Is Best For Ginger?
Slow masticating juicers are considered the most effective option for making fresh ginger juice. These juicers use the force of a heavy-duty auger to crush and grind fruits and veggies, squeezing out as much juice as possible before discarding the pulp. This slow, methodical process is a good option for ginger, which is quite a tough veggie to process.
However, if you’re juicing fresh ginger root without removing the peel, you may find that masticating juicers struggle to handle the skin, especially if you’re using older ginger.
An alternative option is to use a centrifugal type of juicer, which works at a high speed to chop fruits and vegetables and extract their juices.
Centrifugal juicers can produce more pulp when juicing ginger, as the high-speed process doesn’t allow for as much contact time before the pulp is discarded. Additionally, juicing with so much speed and power can result in heat build-up and oxidation, which decreases the nutritional value of the juice. However, blockages are less likely to occur.
See this article to learn more about the differences between masticating and centrifugal juicers.
