Before you start cutting fresh ginger, you have to peel it—that thick brown peel is no fun to eat. Because of the weird shape of ginger, the easiest way to peel it is not with a peeler or a knife, but with a small spoon.

Is it OK to eat the skin of ginger?

"Ginger peel is completely safe to consume," Dana said. "I often slice off coins of unpeeled ginger and steep in hot water for the tastiest ginger tea. The peel may contain more fiber [than the rest of the ginger root]." ... And yep, the skin is tough and fibrous so consider how you're going to use that unpeeled ginger.

Is peeling ginger necessary?

Ginger peel is perfectly safe to eat

The only reason to peel ginger is textural: The skin is a little tougher than the flesh. But since ginger isn't usually eaten in big chunks, there's simply no reason to peel ginger in most recipes.