True Crystallized Ginger

I dedicate this special recipe with all my love to a very special lady, my late mother-in-law, who introduced me to the real crystallized ginger decades ago.

1. 1

   This is not sugar coated ginger but CRYSTALLIZED ginger. The by-product, therefore, is not ginger syrup but ginger crystal powder. Enjoy!
   
   1) Peel the ginger and cut in 1-1.5cm (1/2 in) dice. Try peeling with spoon and you will find it very easy especially around knobs and cracks and will end up with no wastes.
   
   2) Put the ginger and water in a saucepan, bring to boil over high heat and remove the white creamy foams around the saucepan and in the centre (harshness of ginger) - no need to be too thorough.
   
   3) Add the sugar and let it boil again to dissolve the sugar, and then reduce the heat to low to simmer with the lid on for an hour (until each piece of ginger becomes translucent).
   
   4) As the ginger pieces are cooked well, turn the heat to high and let it evaporate vigorously stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Getting thicker with sticky bubbles? Just carry on!
   
   5) When it reaches a point of the thickness of honey, reduce the heat to medium, add the cinnamon and salt then carry on stirring.
   
   6) Now the fun starts and quick!
   When it starts taking the syrup a good one second to cover the saucepan floor, change the stirring motion into overturning the contents by twisting your hand holding the wooden spoon and lifting one side of the saucepan to help overturn.
   
   7) After a short process of being bubble-covered to heavy lump, you will witness the moment of its sudden transformation into powder covering the ginger. Overturn two to three more times and take the saucepan off the heat.
   
   8) Spread the pieces over the sieve and cool. When cool, put them in an air-tight container and store in the room temperature.
   
   9) Do not discard the powder left behind!
   Store in a spare sugar pot or jar and enjoy it with tea, coffee, milkshake, ice cream or anything of your imagination. The sweetness is 1/5 of white sugar.