Choosing fresh horseradish?

[schnauzer]

Hi, I am going to make some beetroot and horseradish relish for Christmas gifts and wondered how to choose fresh horseradish. I tried out a recipe a few months ago and it tasted good but the horseradish was very dry and tough and I wondered if it was old. Fresh horseradish is not widely available up here in Scotland but I noticed some yesterday in the new exotic veg section in my local Morrisons. It was wrapped in cling film and some of it was quite green and other bits were more brown coloured also some of it was mouldy. My question is which is freshest green or brown? Also what could I add to the relish to give it a bit of a jelly consistency. Any advice gratefully received.

[Dawgluver]

Not sure. My dad grew and processed his own horseradish for many years. He used a hand grater, and mixed it with a bit of vinegar, then put it in jars. It would burn off your eyebrows.

You should probably cut out the moldy/bad spots and peel it before grating.

[GB]

I can not say for sure, but in general in the world of produce, green is fresher than brown.

My mom grates her own horseradish each year for Passover. Her stuff would make chuck Norris cry. When my daughter was just starting to eat solid food, during her first Passover, all she ate that night was moms horseradish. Grown men had tears running down their cheeks just from passing the horseradish to the person sitting next to them and there is my infant daughter shoveling the stuff in like it was ice cream.

[Dawgluver]

Originally Posted by GB

I can not say for sure, but in general in the world of produce, green is fresher than brown.

My mom grates her own horseradish each year for Passover. Her stuff would make chuck Norris cry. When my daughter was just starting to eat solid food, during her first Passover, all she ate that night was moms horseradish. Grown men had tears running down their cheeks just from passing the horseradish to the person sitting next to them and there is my infant daughter shoveling the stuff in like it was ice cream.

Too funny, GB!

[jennyema]

Originally Posted by GB

I can not say for sure, but in general in the world of produce, green is fresher than brown.

My mom grates her own horseradish each year for Passover. Her stuff would make chuck Norris cry. When my daughter was just starting to eat solid food, during her first Passover, all she ate that night was moms horseradish. Grown men had tears running down their cheeks just from passing the horseradish to the person sitting next to them and there is my infant daughter shoveling the stuff in like it was ice cream.

Hahahaha !!!



Look for heavy roots. They lose weight over time.

[Bolas De Fraile]

Originally Posted by GB

I can not say for sure, but in general in the world of produce, green is fresher than brown.

My mom grates her own horseradish each year for Passover. Her stuff would make chuck Norris cry. When my daughter was just starting to eat solid food, during her first Passover, all she ate that night was moms horseradish. Grown men had tears running down their cheeks just from passing the horseradish to the person sitting next to them and there is my infant daughter shoveling the stuff in like it was ice cream.

My Dad used to give us a spoonful when we had chest colds, by the age of 10 I could hit a spittoon at 20 feet using my right nostril

[buckytom]

they should look like a thick, relatively straight root with a light brown skin on them much like ginger, but a little thicker (skinned).

and like jenny said, they should be solid and somewhat heavy. the lighter and mushier they get, the older they are.

we like to grate our horseradish into beets using the finer side of a box grater. it should be a little juicy when doing so, almost as if grating a carrot.

[Bolas De Fraile]

Schnauzer the chrien I buy here has the outer colour of an old potato, ask the veg manager in Morrisons for some fresh h/radish

[Caslon]

I really like a dab of horseradish on the plate when I make a roast beef dinner. The store bought kind is good, but I didn't realize that horseradish doesn't last that long once opened. So I end up buying another small jar of it because I don't make a roast every week.

[Timothy]

Originally Posted by Bolas De Fraile

My Dad used to give us a spoonful when we had chest colds, by the age of 10 I could hit a spittoon at 20 feet using my right nostril

Thanks Bolas, now, I'll never get that image back out of my mind!