horseradish

poster · October 2016

I love the home made fresh stuff vs. the jarred stuff from the grocery store. I have never made it on my own though, but I now have access to some plants and want to give it a try. Google shows some pretty large variations in the amount of vinegar used. Does anyone here make their own? I would like to make a few jars that will hopefully keep a few months. Is this the reason behind the vinegar variance I am seeing? Also I have had it mixed with beets as well, and would like to find a recipe for this too. Boil the beets, or use canned?

Carolina Q · October 2016

I have no idea, but I hope you get some answers. Sounds like something I'd like to try too.

Sea2Ski · October 2016

Never did it myself, and can not answer your questions, but this brought back memories of when I was young (like < 10) I can clearly remember my parents over my grandfathers making it Easter Day for Easter dinner (we always had kielbasa and ham). They would grate it outside on the side of the house with the most air movement. I also remember them wiping their eyes and laughing/crying while doing it.

poster · October 2016

Sea2Ski said:

Never did it myself, and can not answer your questions, but this brought back memories of when I was young (like < 10) I can clearly remember my parents over my grandfathers making it Easter Day for Easter dinner (we always had kielbasa and ham). They would grate it outside on the side of the house with the most air movement. I also remember them wiping their eyes and laughing/crying while doing it.

some potent stuff for sure...

I will see if I can find some info locally as well. We finally had our first heavy frost here (record # of above freezing days this year) so iv'e been told that means its horseradish harvest time.

nolaegghead · October 2016

I love horseradish.

If you ever get a chance, buy (you'll probably have to have it shipped) some real, fresh wasabi stem. It isn't sold locally very often. Extremely expensive and it should be grated right before eating.

fishlessman · October 2016

ive been looking into it lately, have some big plants on the side of the house. about 2 tbls per cup white vinegar and salt is to taste per cup. fill icecube trays and freeze if you plan on keeping it over a month. the vinegar is not a preservative, it stops it from losing heat(so if its too hot when ground wait a few minutes to let it mellow and then add the vinegar, i see no need for waiting), so this is to be kept in the fridge if you bottle it. you can add some bottled lemon juice (the bottled stuff). have ground it up before, do this outside, keep your nose away from the food processor( i say this but everyone has to take that first sniff, its like telling a kid not to play with matches)

poster · October 2016

nolaegghead said:

I love horseradish.

If you ever get a chance, buy (you'll probably have to have it shipped) some real, fresh wasabi stem. It isn't sold locally very often. Extremely expensive and it should be grated right before eating.

Wow, took a look $70/lb!

Guess that's why the wasabi in tubes has horseradish as a main ingredient? too expensive to go pure.

HeavyG · October 2016

poster said:

nolaegghead said:

I love horseradish.

If you ever get a chance, buy (you'll probably have to have it shipped) some real, fresh wasabi stem. It isn't sold locally very often. Extremely expensive and it should be grated right before eating.

Wow, took a look $70/lb!
Guess that's why the wasabi in tubes has horseradish as a main ingredient? too expensive to go pure.

Almost everything sold in the US as "wasabi" contains zero actual wasabi.

poster · October 2016

fishlessman said:

ive been looking into it lately, have some big plants on the side of the house. about 2 tbls per cup white vinegar and salt is to taste per cup. fill icecube trays and freeze if you plan on keeping it over a month. the vinegar is not a preservative, it stops it from losing heat(so if its too hot when ground wait a few minutes to let it mellow and then add the vinegar, i see no need for waiting), so this is to be kept in the fridge if you bottle it. you can add some bottled lemon juice (the bottled stuff). have ground it up before, do this outside, keep your nose away from the food processor( i say this but everyone has to take that first sniff, its like telling a kid not to play with matches)

I've had the pleasure of sniffing a freshly opened jar from a friend a few times.

Good info on the freezing, I will give it a shot.

Also I was told boil fresh beets until tender then process with the horseradish, about one medium beet per horseradish plant used for a more milder sweeter version.

Your vinegar ratio sounds right to me, I will start there and add a touch more if it looks dry. A few recipes I seen showed 3/4 cup per 1 cup of ground root? Sounds like it would be submersed in the stuff to me, that's why I thought it was maybe for preserving, but looks like not.

Thanks for the info

JustineCaseyFeldown · October 2016

I've made ground horseradish a few times. Mixed results. And it makes so much that even I can't use it quickly enough

It's a tough root, so grinding it will require a decent food processor. I tried a grater first, then small food processor. Then a blender. Never got what I wanted.

The amounts of vinegar vary. The finer you grind the more it will hold. But it's more about how much you want. It's required to hold the heat, to fix it. But that amoint isn't a lot

The more important aspect is WHEN you add the vinegar. I don't recall off hand whether adding it quickly is what keeps the horseradish hot, or if letting it go longer before adding allows the heat to mellow. So double check that. (Or you can wait for somepne to google it and then reply like they knew it off the top of their head

)

my remembery is that adding it right away 'fixes' the heat. While letting it go longer lets it mellow

doesn't sound like much help i know. But seriously, make sure you have something heavy duty that will grind that stuff fine

one thing i do remember and learned the hard way: wait til winter and the leaves die back. If you smell or taste a leaf you'll notice a faint hint of the flavor.

That 'stuff' gets stored back in the root in the late fall/winter. So if you like !HORSERADISH! with a capital H, wait until it dies back. I did one in spring and it was flavorless vinegar mush

fishlessman · October 2016

poster said:

fishlessman said:

ive been looking into it lately, have some big plants on the side of the house. about 2 tbls per cup white vinegar and salt is to taste per cup. fill icecube trays and freeze if you plan on keeping it over a month. the vinegar is not a preservative, it stops it from losing heat(so if its too hot when ground wait a few minutes to let it mellow and then add the vinegar, i see no need for waiting), so this is to be kept in the fridge if you bottle it. you can add some bottled lemon juice (the bottled stuff). have ground it up before, do this outside, keep your nose away from the food processor( i say this but everyone has to take that first sniff, its like telling a kid not to play with matches)

I've had the pleasure of sniffing a freshly opened jar from a friend a few times.
Good info on the freezing, I will give it a shot.
Also I was told boil fresh beets until tender then process with the horseradish, about one medium beet per horseradish plant used for a more milder sweeter version.
Your vinegar ratio sounds right to me, I will start there and add a touch more if it looks dry. A few recipes I seen showed 3/4 cup per 1 cup of ground root? Sounds like it would be submersed in the stuff to me, that's why I thought it was maybe for preserving, but looks like not.
Thanks for the info

smelling it in the food processor is night and day different than from the jar

you can also chunk and freeze and grate it whenever you want to. what was mentioned, its a fall thing, i dig it up when im picking cranberries in november here in the north east.

JustineCaseyFeldown · October 2016

HeavyG said:

poster said:

nolaegghead said:

I love horseradish.

If you ever get a chance, buy (you'll probably have to have it shipped) some real, fresh wasabi stem. It isn't sold locally very often. Extremely expensive and it should be grated right before eating.

Wow, took a look $70/lb!
Guess that's why the wasabi in tubes has horseradish as a main ingredient? too expensive to go pure.

Almost everything sold in the US as "wasabi" contains zero actual wasabi.

Yep. And is actually just...... horseradish!

HeavyG · October 2016

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

I've made ground horseradish a few times. Mixed results. And it makes so much that even I can't use it quickly enough

It's a tough root, so grinding it will require a decent food processor. I tried a grater first, ...

Was your grater a MicroPlane? They work well on horseradish and ginger.

JustineCaseyFeldown · October 2016

HeavyG said:

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

I've made ground horseradish a few times. Mixed results. And it makes so much that even I can't use it quickly enough

It's a tough root, so grinding it will require a decent food processor. I tried a grater first, ...

Was your grater a MicroPlane? They work well on horseradish and ginger.

No. box grater the first time. Dumb.

Blender worked pretty good. But still meh.

nolaegghead · October 2016

fishlessman said:

ive been looking into it lately, have some big plants on the side of the house. about 2 tbls per cup white vinegar and salt is to taste per cup. fill icecube trays and freeze if you plan on keeping it over a month. the vinegar is not a preservative, it stops it from losing heat(so if its too hot when ground wait a few minutes to let it mellow and then add the vinegar, i see no need for waiting), so this is to be kept in the fridge if you bottle it. you can add some bottled lemon juice (the bottled stuff). have ground it up before, do this outside, keep your nose away from the food processor( i say this but everyone has to take that first sniff, its like telling a kid not to play with matches)

You're on to something. It's like garlic, how you cut/crush/grate it changes the heat. When you bust up the cells the heat is created (it's a defense mechanism against insects and animals). The finer you grate it, the hotter it gets. You need to wait before adding the vinegar if you want it really hot because the acid stops the enzyme from making the stuff.

So if you want it real mild, grind it up with vinegar. Or grate it course and add vinegar quickly. You want it hot, grate it fine and let it sit for a while to fully develop.

Garlic is the much the same. How you process it changes the garlicyness of a clove.

I knew this about garlic but I confess, I googled the radish.

jimmyhat1978 · October 2016

I dont generally use vinegar when I make mine. I just grind it and put it in jars, and then add the juice from some other naturally fermented vegetable until the ground horse radish is submerged.

JustineCaseyFeldown · October 2016

Not that it matters, but I love horseradish

I have this tired old stunt/joke i like to pull in sushi joints. My wife rolls her eyes but what the heck.

When we are done i like to pick up the jumbo ball of green wasabi and say to the chef or waiter/waitress "oooh. Mint! Is this mint? Looks like mint ...like to freshen your breath?" And before they can say no i toss the thing in my mouth, chew it, and swallow.

They look at me waiting for my head to explode. But i just shrug and say "not very minty, actually"

Trick is to breathe in through your nose and out through the mouth. Some heat in your mouth, but not bad, but as long as it doesn't reach into your sinuses, you are fine

Anyway. Carry on.

horseradish

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