Saenggang Cheong (Ginger Syrup) with Pear Juice

Ingredients

• If using fresh pear instead of pear juice, prepare 1 large pear.
• If you have neither pear juice nor pear, you may add water.
• Let the blended ginger juice sit for about 1 hour to allow the starch to settle.

Steps

1. Prepare the ingredients

   

   

   ›

   Here is fresh ginger.

   It is also great to add pear.

   I have pear juice on hand, so I will add 3 cups of it and blend them together.

   If you use a pear instead of pear juice, prepare one large one.

2. Clean the ginger

   

   

   ›

   If it has a lot of dirt on it, wash it first before peeling.

   Rinse it under water while breaking the ginger into pieces to wash away the dirt trapped in between.

   

   

   ›

   Trim off the small sprouts at the tips of the ginger and gently scrape with a knife to peel easily.

   The skin is thin, making it easy to clean.

   

   Roughly chop it so it blends easily in the blender.

   If you prepared a pear, cut it into a similar size.

3. Blend the ginger

   

   

   ›

   Put the ginger in the blender, add 3 cups of pear juice or the pear...

   Blend finely.

   If you have neither pear juice nor pear, you can add water.

   

   

   ›

   Pour the finely blended ginger into a strainer to let the juice drain out.

   

   If using the blender in two or three batches, you can blend subsequent batches with the ginger juice extracted earlier instead of adding more water.

   If too much water goes in, it takes more sugar and time to simmer down the ginger syrup.

   

   

   ›

   Set it in a strainer and press gently to extract the juice, then place the remaining pulp in a cotton cheesecloth and squeeze tightly.

   Squeezing with your hands will extract much more juice.

   

   

   ›

   Let the juice sit for about 1 hour so the starch settles to the bottom.

   The ginger juice collected this way is about 10 cups. Since 3 cups of pear juice went in, the pure ginger juice makes 7 cups.

4. Add sugar and boil

   

   Pour the ginger juice into a pot and add 4 cups of sugar.

   If the amount of sugar is too small, the sweetness will be too low and reduce the shelf life of the ginger syrup, so aim for a ratio of about ginger (1) to sugar (05.~0.6).

   

   

   ›

   Turn the heat to high and stir to dissolve the sugar.

   Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low so it does not boil over.

   

   

   ›

   At first, a lot of foam will rise to the surface, so skim it off diligently.

5. Simmer down

   

   

   ›

   Stir occasionally while scraping the bottom so it does not scorch.

   As time passes, the amount of ginger juice will decrease and the color will gradually begin to darken.

   Also skim off the foam that forms around the edges as it thickens from time to time.

   

   

   ›

   I simmered it down for about 1 hour.

   When the consistency thickens slightly and takes on a color similar to toasted sesame oil, it is almost done.

   Simmer it until the consistency is halfway between toasted sesame oil and corn syrup, and it will reach the right thickness once cooled.

   Turn off the heat, stir in 1 cup of honey, and let it cool.

6. Finish

   

   This is how the ginger syrup is completed.

   

   Add a few spoonfuls of this spicy yet subtly sweet ginger syrup, pour in hot water, and drink it—your whole body will feel warm.

   The distinctive flavor and aroma of ginger are truly wonderful.

   It feels quite chilly in the mornings and evenings, so feel the warmth with ginger tea.

Ppunwife's tips

• If using the blender in two or three batches, blending subsequent batches with the ginger juice extracted earlier lets you avoid adding more water.
• If the amount of sugar is too small, the sweetness will be too low and reduce the shelf life of the ginger syrup, so aim for a ratio of about ginger (1) to sugar (05.~0.6).
• Simmer it until the consistency is halfway between toasted sesame oil and corn syrup, and it will reach the right thickness once cooled.

FAQ

Tags