Prepared horseradish

Flavour and aroma

sharp, nose-clearing, pungent, slightly sweet. Sharp, hot and pungent, felt in the nose more than the tongue.

Heat

Medium

Forms

paste, fresh

How to use it

• use raw

  Peel and finely grate fresh root in a well-ventilated place, then mix with vinegar and salt. Adding vinegar at once gives a milder result; waiting about 2–3 minutes gives more heat, because the pungency forms after grating and vinegar stops the reaction.

• infuse · Simmering technique

  Stir prepared horseradish into cream, sour cream or mayonnaise off the heat; cooking destroys its pungency.

• Served with roast beef and steak
• Smoked fish, gravlax and herring
• Cocktail sauce and Bloody Marys
• Mixed into mashed potato or beetroot relish (chrzan, hren)
• Easter and Passover tables in Eastern Europe

Identifying good quality

Fresh root: long, tapering, beige-brown and firm, white inside; avoid soft, sprouting or green-tinged roots. Prepared horseradish should be white to cream; it darkens and loses heat with age.

• Not to be confused with Wasabi: Most commercial 'wasabi' is horseradish dyed green. Real wasabi is green-fleshed, sweeter and less harsh.

Origin and history

Origin: Southeastern Europe and western Asia (Armoracia rusticana).. Grown and used: Grown in Central and Eastern Europe and the United States (notably Illinois); used in Central and Eastern European, British, Scandinavian, Jewish and American cooking..

Horseradish has been grown in Central and Eastern Europe since the Middle Ages and is a traditional condiment there (Kren, chrzan, křen, hrean). In Britain it became the standard sauce with roast beef, and in Ashkenazi Jewish practice it is used as maror at Passover and in chrain with beetroot.

Commonly told; not firmly documented

In masalas, pastes and sauces

• Cocktail sauce (American)Sauce40 g per batch
• Horseradish sauceSauce40 g per batch