Ginger, Ground

Ground ginger is warm, sharp and a little sweet, with a dry heat that shows up at the back of the bite rather than the front. The smell is bright and peppery, closer to citrus peel than to the fresh root. Cooking softens the edge and brings out a rounder, almost caramel note, which is why it works so well in baked goods and long-simmered braises.

Use it in gingerbread, molasses cookies, carrot cake and spice loaves. Stir it into pumpkin pie filling with cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. It carries weight in savory cooking too: rub it into chicken with garlic and black pepper, whisk it into a marinade with soy sauce and honey, or bloom it in oil at the start of a curry or a lentil stew. A pinch lifts a pot of applesauce, a glaze for carrots, or a mug of hot tea with lemon.

Start with a quarter to half a teaspoon for a batch of cookies or a pot of soup serving four, then taste. Ground ginger is more concentrated than fresh, so figure roughly a quarter teaspoon for every tablespoon of grated fresh root, keeping in mind the flavor is drier and less juicy. Add it early in savory dishes so the heat mellows, and late in drinks and dressings for a sharper kick.

• Keep the jar closed, away from the stove and out of direct light
• Use a dry spoon; steam clumps the powder
• Bloom in butter or oil for thirty seconds to deepen the flavor
• The 1.5 oz jar suits holiday baking and the occasional curry
• The 15 oz jar fits a cook who bakes most weekends and seasons daily
• The 57 oz jar is for bakeries, big-batch cooking and spice blending

If ginger shows up in your kitchen only in December, the small jar earns its rack space. If you reach for it weekly, size up so you are not scraping the bottom mid-recipe.