In early winter the produce section of markets can be loaded with newly harvested ginger, galangal, and turmeric roots; they are full, succulent, and fresh. This is the time to preserve them. If you are lucky, you might find varieties beyond the widely available yellow ginger, such as the milder baby ginger, labeled “pink,” “young,” “new,” or “stem” ginger, or the zestier blue Hawaiian. This recipe can be used for any kind of ginger, turmeric, or galangal, though galangal is more fibrous and better suited for a grated paste. We use these slices throughout the year to flavor meals or to put in other ferments to give them a head start (for example, when starting a hot sauce with only dried chile pods).