Lou McLeod: Easy Horseradish Sauce with Fresh Horseradish Root

Easy Horseradish Sauce with Fresh Horseradish Root was originally published to http://totalsurvival.net

My first foray into horseradish sauce happened as a result of conversation with my son’s piano teacher, Miss Betty. (Some of you may remember her from her rye bread and pickle recipes.) Betty and her husband have a huge patch of horseradish, but this year her husband said he didn’t want to make homemade horseradish sauce because it was too much work. (They are getting up in years, so the digging and cleaning is becoming more of a chore.) Never one to miss an opportunity to learn to try something new in the kitchen, I told her that we’d be happy to give her a hand.

My youngest and I went over in the morning to dig the roots. Warning – horseradish roots can be deep and strong! While attempting to muscle the roots out of the ground, my son bent the handle of the steel garden fork. (Time to check out whether or not the “Lifetime Warranty” covers horseradish damage…) We weren’t quite sure how much to dig, so we dug quite a few – and ended up with enough horseradish sauce for a small army.

After digging, we washed the worst of the mud off with a garden hose. Then we went back to our kitchen and did the peeling and chopping. Because we had so much horseradish, I placed the cubed horseradish in water with citric acid in it to prevent browning. You could also use salt water or water with lemon juice. Betty and her husband normally work in small batches (1 cup of horseradish, as specified in the recipe), so they skip the anti-browning treatment. Betty shared her family’s two horseradish sauce recipes with me – one basic pickled sauce, and one creamy sauce made with the basic sauce. You can use apple cider vinegar if you prefer, but it will give the sauce a darker color.

Fresh Horseradish Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup horseradish, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor at high speed. Blend until creamy. Put in a jar and store in the refrigerator.

Note: If you don’t have a food processor or blender, grate the horseradish root as finely as possible and blend with other ingredients.

Easy Horseradish Sauce 2016-11-09 20:21:07

Simple recipes for homemade horseradish sauce - plain or cream style - made with fresh horseradish root and other quality ingredients. Write a review Save Recipe Print 1002 calories 58 g 46 g 84 g 4 g 13 g 531 g 2294 g 49 g 0 g 69 g Nutrition Facts Serving Size 531g Amount Per Serving Calories 1002 Calories from Fat 744 % Daily Value * Total Fat 84g 130% Saturated Fat 13g 66% Trans Fat 0g Polyunsaturated Fat 50g Monounsaturated Fat 19g Cholesterol 46mg 15% Sodium 2294mg 96% Total Carbohydrates 58g 19% Dietary Fiber 9g 38% Sugars 49g Protein 4g Vitamin A2%Vitamin C112% Calcium18%Iron9% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Does this look wrong? For Basic Sauce

1 cup horseradish, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

For creamed sauce

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

For basic sauce

Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor at high speed. Blend until creamy. Put in a jar and store in the refrigerator.

For creamed sauce

In a small bowl, blend all ingredients. Makes about 1 cup. Store in refrigerator.

Notes

If you don’t have a food processor or blender, grate the horseradish root as finely as possible and blend with other ingredients for the basic sauce.

By Betty Schleis beta calories 1002 fat 84g protein 4g carbs 58g more Common Sense Homesteading http://commonsensehome.com/

Creamed Horseradish Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a small bowl, blend all ingredients. Makes about 1 cup. Store in refrigerator.

A Note on Horseradish

Betty and I were talking about how very few people make homemade horseradish sauce anymore, even when they have access to a horseradish patch. The big batch we did took a couple hours (with digging and cleaning), but we ended up with four quarts of sauce. (I’m gifting out horseradish to local friends and family this fall.) If you were making only a cup, it wouldn’t take much time at all.

I think that perhaps our modern palates are spoiled by the abundance of food choices available in the average grocery store, and how much fresh produce is available all year round. In the olden days, folks were more appreciative of the zip of horseradish when they had to rely on storage food all winter. The same might be said of heavy spiced cakes and cookies. I find when baking that spice cakes and cookies are much more appreciated by the older crowd, while young palates more commonly go for chocolate or vanilla.

Simple recipes for homemade horseradish sauce - plain or cream style - made with fresh horseradish root and other quality ingredients.

Our huge haul of horseradish sauce.

Be careful when working with the ground horseradish root! I could smell the vapors as we were chopping, but it wasn’t until I leaned over the bowl of the food processor that the full effect hit me. My eyes started watering, my nose started running – I cleared sinuses that I didn’t know I had. I had to step away for a moment and wipe the tears, and when I came back, I made sure to keep the sauce at arms’ length.

Horseradish and wasabi are both rooty members of the cabbage family, and they release a compound called allyl isothiocyanate, which is responsible for that pungent burn. The pungency will fade over time as the sauce sits in the fridge, but when it’s fresh, watch out!

Have you ever tried homemade horseradish sauce? What do you think about the disappearance of spicy desserts? Share your thoughts below.