Our Favorite Way to Peel Ginger Is So Simple All You Need Is a Spoon

Aside from cutting into a massive pumpkin or chopping up 40 cloves of garlic, there are few ingredients that are as annoying to prep as fresh ginger. Since the root has so many nooks and crannies, it's painstaking to peel and it's not long before you want to resort to using the ground ginger in your spice cabinet. But the recipe calls for fresh ginger, so you persevere.

Enter our favorite ginger-peeling hack, which makes peeling ginger as simple as pie (Maple-Ginger Apple Pie, that is). All you need is a spoon. EatingWell senior food editor Devon O'Brien explains how to do it:

"I hold the ginger firmly in one hand and hold a spoon by the 'bowl' portion, rather than the handle, for more control."

"Then I just scrape the spoon's edge over the ginger to scrape away the papery skin, removing as little flesh as possible."

With the spoon method, you can say goodbye to losing a third of the fresh ginger root to your vegetable peeler or paring knife.

"That's what's so great about this method—the spoon saves you from wasting as much of the edible portion of the ginger root as possible, whereas a vegetable peeler would remove much more," says O'Brien.

Not only does this easy hack give you more bang for your buck but it also requires no sharp blades. So, feel free to let your kids join in (and have peace of mind that you won't be nicking yourself, either!).

And to make this method even easier, O'Brien has a few more pieces of advice. She recommends using a spoon that's on the thinner side rather than a thick spoon—a thin spoon will more effectively and easily scrape off just the skin. With your nondominant hand, hold the root firmly and turn it as needed against the spoon. "I always peel the large, flat areas first, going around the bumps," O'Brien adds. "Then I go back and scrape up and over the bumps and in all the small crevices, making sure to get as much of the skin off as possible!"

And now that peeling ginger is no longer a daunting feat, we bet you're wanting all of the fresh ginger recipes you can get your hands on. Our Scallion-Ginger Beef & Broccoli—a recipe that's ready in just 30 minutes—is packed with a tablespoon of fresh ginger. Or if you're looking for a delicious breakfast recipe, Jason Mraz's Avocado Green Smoothie has a zing of ginger that will get your day started! Browse all of our healthy ginger recipes for more delicious ideas.