Horseradish Preparation

[Don McCombs]

This process accommodates about a pound of horseradish root. If you are processing more than that, do it in batches.

In a blender or food processor, prepare the liquid base of:

3/4 cup water
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wash, peel horseradish root and cut into 1 inch segments. Pour liquid base ingredients into blender or food processor and add 5-6 segments of root. Cover and blend for 10 seconds. Repeat, adding root segments until horseradish reaches the top. Place in clean, glass containers, cap tightly and refrigerate.

You can adjust the consistency of the final product by increasing or decreasing the blending/processing time.

One word of caution! I always conduct all parts of this process outdoors. Fresh horseradish root is very pungent and can quickly overcome you in an enclosed space.

Enjoy!

[Lurker Carl]

Sounds like the perfect condiment for a beef sandwich! My wife's old boss used to make fresh horseradish, it sure is better than the stuff sold in the stores.

How hard is horseradish to grow?

[Eugene]

Wife's recipe consists of just the scrubbed clean horseradish. Not peeled. Cut into small chunks. Small chunks are chopped in the blender with just enough vinegar to make juicy. Store in the refrigerator in sealed jar.

Horseradish is very easy to grow - from wife. Seperate the root with the green tops, leaving about 1/2 inch of root attached to the tops. Just stick the 1/2 inch of root in the soil and water.

I have been planting root cutting just under the soil. I find that when I harvest horseradish that some of the roots remain in the soil as well as broken off pieces broken.

You can harvest in one year.

Eugene

[dracer398]

Eugene,
Are there certian months that are good to harvest in?

[Don McCombs]

I dig mine during a warm spell in January or February.

[Eugene]

We usually harvest in the fall or early spring. Wife says the ground needs to be wet when harvesting. As earlier stated we just replant the tops and small roots.

I now have two patches growing. The intent is to harvest one patch a year.

First harvest - Wait one year. Other wise the roots will be rather small.

If you look around old home sites you can frequently find horseradish plants. My neighbor has some horseradish plants are probably 10 years old. These could be dug at any time.

Eugene

[Wise Owl]

Horseradish is very easy to grow - from wife. Seperate the root with the green tops, leaving about 1/2 inch of root attached to the tops. Just stick the 1/2 inch of root in the soil and water.

Hi Eugene Would you let this green top and half inch root dry for a couple of days to seal it and protect it against mold much like is required with pineapple tops and cactus?

[Eugene]

We don't dry out the root. Just stick it back in the soil.

I place horseradish beds in locations that I can not mow with a rider mower. Horseradish only gets to about 18" tall, leafy and makes a nice looking arraingement (doesn't look like weeds). Once started and harvested, horseradish will fill in the area. No care needed and the bugs do not bother it. Crowds out weeds. It also remains leafy until the first frost.

Eugene