Garnishes

Candied Ginger

Candied ginger, also sold as crystallised ginger, is fresh root cooked in sugar syrup until tender, then dried and usually rolled in sugar. In a drink it is a garnish to be eaten, sweet first and warm after, and it is no substitute for fresh ginger shaken into the drink. It sits on the rim of our Penicillin and garnishes our Storm & Spice, both drinks that already carry ginger.

Quick Facts

ABV0%

Legal categoryFood

OriginAsia (traditional ginger preservation techniques)

Flavour Strengthmedium bold

Our keeping timeUnopened: six to twelve months. Opened: three to six months, sealed.

Storage

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Avoid exposure to moisture, which causes stickiness and clumping.

Allergens

Contains: sulphites. Many crystallised gingers are preserved with sulphur dioxide and declare it: Whitworths’ Joyful Ginger lists “Preservative: Sulphur Dioxide” on its own site; some are not. Check the pack.

The ingredient

About Candied Ginger

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

Ginger heatSweet spice

Tasting Notes

Initial sweetness followed by sharp, warming ginger heat. Chewy texture with lingering spice on the finish.

Cooked in syrup, then dried

Candied ginger starts as fresh ginger. The root is peeled, sliced, simmered until tender, then cooked in sugar syrup until translucent, drained, dried and usually rolled in sugar. Sugar takes the place of much of the water. Cooking also changes the root's chemistry, turning some of its gingerol into milder compounds, so the heat in a piece is softer and rounder than raw root's.

A garnish to eat, not a substitute

Because of the sugar and the cooking, candied ginger does a different job from the fresh root. On the rim it is a last bite that repeats the drink's ginger. Shaken into the drink it sweetens it, dulls the heat and leaves pieces to strain out. Decide which job you want before reaching for the jar.

Choose firm, dry pieces with an even coat of sugar. Soft, tacky ones have taken on moisture and slide off a rim.

Ginger as a garnish: candied against fresh and ground (keeping times are ours)

Candied ginger cube or slice

Texture: Chewy, sugar-coated
Sugar: High
Heat: Soft, after the sweetness
Keeps: Months sealed and dry

Fresh ginger slice on a pick

Texture: Firm, fibrous
Sugar: None
Heat: Sharp and bright
Keeps: Cut root two or three days

Ground ginger dusted on a foam

Texture: Powder
Sugar: None
Heat: Dry, scent more than heat
Keeps: About a year once opened, in our experience

Garnish	Texture	Sugar	Heat	Keeps
Candied ginger cube or slice	Chewy, sugar-coated	High	Soft, after the sweetness	Months sealed and dry
Fresh ginger slice on a pick	Firm, fibrous	None	Sharp and bright	Cut root two or three days
Ground ginger dusted on a foam	Powder	None	Dry, scent more than heat	About a year once opened, in our experience

Two of our drinks wear it

The Penicillin puts a piece on the rim of a drink that already has fresh ginger shaken through it, so the garnish is a reminder rather than a new flavour. Our Storm & Spice sets it beside a lime wedge on a highball of ginger beer, lime and spiced rum. Keep the jar airtight and dry between uses.

Using it

Using Candied Ginger

Usage

Cut it into a small cube or a thin slice and set it on the rim, as our Penicillin does, or on a pick across the glass beside the lime in Storm & Spice. It belongs on drinks that already carry ginger, and it is eaten once the glass is empty.

Pro Tip

If the candied ginger tastes only of sugar, the piece is too big or the drink has no ginger in it. Use a smaller cube, and keep it for drinks where ginger is already in the glass.

Top Tips

Cut it small. A large piece is mostly sugar and takes over the last sip.
Keep it on the rim or a pick, out of the liquid, so it stays firm and does not sweeten the drink.
Read the pack if preservatives matter to you; some crystallised gingers carry one and some do not.
Store it airtight and dry. Damp turns the sugar sticky and welds the pieces together.

Possible Substitutions

Fresh Ginger: a thin slice on a pick: sharper and unsweetened

Production Method

Peeled ginger root simmered in sugar syrup until tender and translucent, drained, dried and usually rolled in sugar. Commercial packs may add a preservative and an acidity regulator.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is candied ginger?

Ginger simmered soft in syrup, then dried and usually coated in sugar, so the water in the root is largely replaced by sugar. It is eaten as a sweet and used in baking, and behind a bar it is a garnish: a small piece on the rim, eaten after the drink.

Is crystallised ginger the same as candied ginger?

Yes, the two names are used for the same thing: ginger cooked in syrup and finished with a sugar coating. Packs vary in cut, from cubes to slices, and in how much sugar clings to the outside. For a garnish, a firm, dry piece that holds its shape on a rim is the one to choose.

Can I use candied ginger instead of fresh ginger in a cocktail?

Not inside the drink. Cooking in syrup changes ginger's heat and adds a lot of sugar, so shaking candied ginger into a sour gives a sweeter, duller drink than fresh slices, and it does not strain out cleanly. Keep candied ginger for the garnish and fresh root for the shaker.

How do you make candied ginger?

Peel and thinly slice fresh root, simmer it in water until tender, then simmer it again in a sugar syrup until translucent. Drain it, toss the pieces in caster sugar and leave them on a rack to dry. The syrup left in the pan is ginger syrup: refrigerate it and use it within a week, by our rule.

How long does candied ginger keep?

Unopened, six to twelve months, or to the date on the pack. In our experience, once opened, three to six months sealed in an airtight jar in a cool, dry place. Moisture is the risk: damp makes the sugar coating sticky and the pieces clump together.

What drinks use candied ginger?

In our recipes, the Penicillin, where a piece sits on the rim over blended Scotch, honey, lemon, fresh ginger and a peated float, and Storm & Spice, where it garnishes ginger beer, lime and spiced rum. Both already carry ginger, so the garnish repeats a flavour the drink has rather than adding a new one.

Should candied ginger go on a pick or on the rim?

Either, as long as it stays out of the drink. In the liquid it softens, bleeds sugar and sweetens the last few sips. A cube pressed onto the rim, or threaded on a pick laid across the glass, stays firm and is there to eat once the drink is finished.

Sources.

Correct as of 18 October 2026.

Whitworths, “Joyful Ginger” (ingredients: ginger, sugar, preservative: sulphur dioxide).

From the Guides

Edible garnishes on a pick

Make something

Made with Candied Ginger

Featured In These Cocktails

Penicillin Storm & Spice

Often Used With

Updated 18 October 2026

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