Re: [CH] Chicken broth and Horseradish

Stephen Tanner (SBahrd@a-o.com)
Thu, 19 Feb 1998 12:45:50 -0400 

Hi Tom,

Lots of luck on your horseradish venture. Be forewarned, that once you
get a horseradish bed started, it becomes your main job to keep it from
taking over your whole yard. Horseradish plants are perrennial and they
spread during the no-frost season like mad.

My father had a horseradish bed all the years that I was growing up in
Wyoming. He never had to replant, even after the coldest winters (-30
deg F.). The way that he maintained his bed was to dig the roots all the
way back to the old growth after the first heavy frost of the season.
This is when the roots are most pungent as the sap has flowed back into
the roots. He then hung the roots in the cellar for future use. Then, on
a windy day, he would sit my brother and I down on a bench with an old
meat grinder clamped to it and we would grind horseradish outside in the
cold. He would then pack it in pint Mason jars,add one tsp salt and fill
the jars with vinegar to just cover. The jars were then returned to the
cellar, except for one which was kept in the fridge. He particularly
liked it with roast beef, ham, and fish. 

Please do not try to compare this with grocery store prepared
horseradish as that legally contains ground cabbage as a filler, even
though it says pure ground horseradish on the jar. The fact is that most
people cannot take the heat of real pure ground horseradish. And to take
a big whiff of a jar of ground horseradish is definitely a no-no. Your
sinuses (or is it sinusii) will explode. Makes tears come to my eyes,
just thinking about it.

This ground horseradish may then be added to:
  Chile sauce and used as a coctail sauce for shrimp.
  Sour cream with bacon peices as a dip.
  Mayonnaise as a sauce.
  Mustard for a ham sandwich.
  More horseradish as a condiment for roast beef etc.
  Use your imagination as long as you don't try to cook with it.

In the cooking process, horseradish loses it's pungency and takes on the
flavor of stale turnips.

Hope this helps to answer your questions about horseradish. :{)

Steve

> On Wed, 18 Feb 1998 tgreaves@notes.primeco.com wrote:
> 
> >
> > I've a couple of questions for our erudite list:  1) Could you heat
> > tortillas in chicken broth to soften them instead of oil?  (I'm trying to
> > minimize fat); and 2) I'm planting several horseradish plants this year and
> > am looking for some good HOT horseradish sauce recipes.  Anyone got one to
> > share?  Thanks, Tom Greaves
> >
> >
> >

-- 
Steve Tanner
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