Whew! I am back after a whirlwind weekend with family in Chicago. This will be the last of the posts about stuff we’ve made for our upcoming food swap.

I thought candied ginger would be a nice treat heading into fall. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart – and it’s not really “candy.” It’s spicy, and packs a serious punch. Which makes it especially fun as a topping on something that is otherwise very sweet. It also is great for soothing an upset stomach.

I’ll be keeping this around for most of the fall and finding fun ways to use it. Now where’s my gingerbread recipe?

We used Alton Brown’s recipe for this, and we’ll be trading it at our upcoming food swap!

Here’s what you need:

• Nonstick spray
• 1 pound fresh ginger, peeled and sliced at 1/8 inch thick.
• 5 cups water
• Approximately 1 pound granulated sugar

Start by preparing your landing station. Line a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper. Place a cooling rack on top and spray it thoroughly with nonstick spray.

Put the ginger and water into a saucepan, cover and cook for 35 minutes on medium heat. The ginger will be tender when it is thoroughly cooked.

Drain the ginger in a colander and weigh it. Put it back in the pan, and then measure out an equal weight of sugar (WEIGHT is very important here and is really the only acceptable form of measurement in this application).

Add the sugar and another 1/4 cup of water to the ginger in the saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until all the water boils away and you are left with only sugar – it will re-crystalize and coat the ginger slices. If the heat is high enough, this will only take 20 minutes or so.

When it starts to recrystalize, transfer the entire contents of the pan to the cooling rack and allow to, well – cool. Keep the sugar that falls down to the baking sheet – it will be deliciously gingery.

Store the candied ginger in an airtight container for 2 weeks. Eat by the piece or chop and use as a topping for sweet desserts and baked goods. It would be a great addition to ice cream, the icing on top of a cake or quick bread, or an addition to frosted, fall-spicy anything!