This funny almost horse hoof looking root vegetable is a whole horseradish. Horseradish is the 2011 herb of the year picked by the International Herb Association, and last year when I read this I was inspired to make it January’s herb of the month. Besides I had never before worked with fresh horseradish and I don’t think I’ve seen it in its natural form, only prepared in jars. So many people love fresh horseradish. Now is a great time to get acquainted with it and use it.
A few days ago I rushed out to find a fresh whole root and found it with the help of the produce guy. It was tucked between other root vegetables but even if I saw it, I honestly don’t think I would have known it was horseradish. I asked lots of questions and the produce guy helped me get information and gave me tips.
Did you know horseradish belongs to the Cruciferae family and has strong antibiotic, antibacterial, cancer-protective properties, and is rich in sulfur.
Like most root vegetables, horseradish is so easy to prepare. Wash the root and then use a sharp vegetable peeler to remove the outer layer. Next, you have a couple options. You can hand grate horseradish with a microplane fine grater or a larger grater, or cut into cubes and blend in a blender with a little water [just enough to cover the blades-about 1/4 cup]. For each cup of grated or blended horseradish, add approximately 2 to 3 tablespoons of vinegar [I like to use apple cider vinegar] and about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Done. You have prepared horseradish you can use as is or in a recipe.
This sounds hard core and I haven’t tried it, yet, so I can’t say how hot or intense it might be but, you can grate fresh horseradish directly into your food. On that note, vinegar is the key to controlling the level of heat or hotness. Vinegar works to stop and stabilize the enzymatic action, so to mellow the pungent hotness add vinegar immediately after you’ve grated/blender horseradish. If you like it hot, wait a few minutes and then add the vinegar. [I wonder if lemon juice has the same effect as vinegar.]
Do you like fresh homemade horseradish?
I have quite a bit of fresh horseradish made from the large root pictured, and I’ll post a recipe, or two, soon. Keep an eye out for a recipe in February that I’ll also link it back to this post.
