Anyone grow and process horseradish?

[quercus21]

It's just about the season here to harvest some horseradish. I grow ours in a little self contained plot. You can also find it along the road ditches.
I usually wash, peel and grind it with a little bit of white vinegar. How do you make it?

Kaj

 

[sparkles2307]

I don't but my grandpa did. I want to get some as a nod to his memory. I loved gardening with him as a kid.

 

[GardenerGal]

Oh my. My grandmothers grew it and it was a main part of their families' diet, as a condiment at any meal with meat or fish.

My mother told me how her mother would stew it in an enormous pot on the stove with a low gas flame, and it would simmer half a day. There was a nosey neighbor who used to walk into the house and see what was cooking on the stove, since my grandmother was always cooking something good. One day as my grandmother was doing some chores in the kitchen, the neighbor walked right in and saw the big pot simmering on the stove and lifted the lid and stuck her face down into the pot and took a big sniff before my grandmother could say anything --- the neighbor passed out cold on the floor!

The take-away lesson is never to take a big whiff of cooking horseradish.

 

[sarasweatman]

I grow it. I like to grate some and put it in mashed potatoes. I also like it in tomato and veggie juice!

 

[hispoptart]

It's just about the season here to harvest some horseradish. I grow ours in a little self contained plot. You can also find it along the road ditches.
I usually wash, peel and grind it with a little bit of white vinegar. How do you make it?

Kaj

We grow it but I have never processed any yet. I'm a bit confused, shouldn't you harvest it at the end of the season? Our plant has not even woken up yet.

 

[quercus21]

We grow it but I have never processed any yet. I'm a bit confused, shouldn't you harvest it at the end of the season? Our plant has not even woken up yet.

I pull the roots when the ground is soft and they are just starting to push green out of the tops. Depending on how big the top/plug is, I'll push it back into the ground after I cut the root off. If it is big, I'll cut into halves or quarters. If I have time tomorrow, I'll be harvesting some and processing it.

 

[gram of five]

We are just growing our first horseradish this year. Putting it in mashed potatoes sounds so good, do you have to cook after you grate it of do you just add it with the butter and milk as you mash?

 

[Tivona]

We are just growing our first horseradish this year. Putting it in mashed potatoes sounds so good, do you have to cook after you grate it of do you just add it with the butter and milk as you mash?

You don't have to cook it. The taste is stronger and hotter raw. I guess it depends on your own preferences and also how long you want it to keep without having to go dig up more. http://homecooking.about.com/od/howtocookvegetables/a/horseradishtips.htm

 

[quercus21]

We are just growing our first horseradish this year. Putting it in mashed potatoes sounds so good, do you have to cook after you grate it of do you just add it with the butter and milk as you mash?

You could try either way. What ever is your preference. Like Tivona says, it is hotter/stronger when is is raw. I have noticed with myself, it tastes like ground roots right after I make it. I like to let it "set and ferment" in the frig for a day or so before eating it.


The majority of the time, I'll eat it raw as a spread. Once in a while, I might spread it on top of a steak during the last few minutes of cooking. I just peel, chop, grind with just enough white vinegar to keep it moist. I am trying something new this year, I have some that is already prepared in the freezer. I hate buying store bought in July/August. I filled (about half way) up some small canning jars, put a lid on them and stuck them in the freezer.
I was going to see if I can find any "wild" horseradish along the stream soon.

 

[hooadefender]

we have a huge stand of it my wife won t let me processs it in the house cause it stinks up the house for weeks

we harvest it in the fall and the spring diferent flavors mild and spicey in the spring and tear jerking in the fall