Comments on: When Horseradish Attacks http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/ Jews, Food, and Contemporary Issues Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:15:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: Konnie http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-7803 Konnie Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:29:05 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-7803 So funny. I was a city girl until we bought a house in the country with an already established garden (with a whole bed of horseradish) I had heard the rhyme about only picking it in months that end with an "r". So one saturday nite in Novembe"r", when I had the evening free I went out and dugg some up. I too was not prepared for the fumes! Needless to say my little girls were not thrilled to wind up sitting on the front steps wrapped in blankets in the cold until the house could air out! p.s. i saw your blog on the new tastespotting! i love that site! So funny. I was a city girl until we bought a house in the country with an already established garden (with a
whole bed of horseradish) I had heard the rhyme about
only picking it in months that end with an “r”. So
one saturday nite in Novembe”r”, when I had the evening
free I went out and dugg some up.

I too was not prepared for the fumes! Needless to say
my little girls were not thrilled to wind up sitting on
the front steps wrapped in blankets in the cold until the house could air out!

p.s. i saw your blog on the new tastespotting! i love that site!

]]> By: Phyllis Landis http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-7283 Phyllis Landis Mon, 16 Jun 2008 01:30:22 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-7283 Alysa, Phyllis here from New Mexico. This is just wonderful. I loved reading all of it. I'm not sure whether I will do the horseradish thing but I will share it with frinds and family. What are your summer plans? How is Ian? Love, Phyllis Alysa,

Phyllis here from New Mexico. This is just wonderful. I loved reading all of it.
I’m not sure whether I will do the horseradish thing but I will share it with frinds and family.

What are your summer plans?

How is Ian?

Love,

Phyllis

]]> By: devadeva mirel http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6794 devadeva mirel Sat, 17 May 2008 01:00:36 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6794 cooking horseradish breaks down the bite. you can throw your horseradish paste in a pan while you saute vegetables. cooking horseradish breaks down the bite. you can throw your horseradish paste in a pan while you saute vegetables.

]]> By: Alyssa http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6559 Alyssa Sat, 10 May 2008 01:54:52 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6559 Kell, as I have been raised, we eat horseradish once a year during Passover, either with gefilte fish or as a sandwich with matzah and charoseth. I suppose it could be good spead very thinly on toast as well. Kell, as I have been raised, we eat horseradish once a year during Passover, either with gefilte fish or as a sandwich with matzah and charoseth. I suppose it could be good spead very thinly on toast as well.

]]> By: Mordechai http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6518 Mordechai Fri, 09 May 2008 15:28:15 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6518 I grate my own, by hand, just before the seder. It is the last thing I do before we sit down to start. There have been years where my hands are 'burned' from the stuff. This year I had plastic gloves, but you can also use one of those heatproof oven mitts, it will also protect you from the grater. The goggles are a great idea. In factories they wear gas masks and chemical protection suits. As a rabbi I gotta chirp in - when you mix the horseradish with honey or vinegar it is no longer ideal for doing the mitzvah of eating maror. I usually recommend that people use romaine lettuce and wrap that around horseradish. You get the full experience, I think, since it is hard to imagine a bunch of Jews creating a festive dinner with burning hot maror. (the Torah tells us to eat it but probably is referring more to a bitter herb then a fire-y root.) I grate my own, by hand, just before the seder. It is the last thing I do before we sit down to start. There have been years where my hands are ‘burned’ from the stuff. This year I had plastic gloves, but you can also use one of those heatproof oven mitts, it will also protect you from the grater. The goggles are a great idea. In factories they wear gas masks and chemical protection suits.

As a rabbi I gotta chirp in - when you mix the horseradish with honey or vinegar it is no longer ideal for doing the mitzvah of eating maror. I usually recommend that people use romaine lettuce and wrap that around horseradish. You get the full experience, I think, since it is hard to imagine a bunch of Jews creating a festive dinner with burning hot maror. (the Torah tells us to eat it but probably is referring more to a bitter herb then a fire-y root.)

]]> By: Kell http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6483 Kell Fri, 09 May 2008 01:54:50 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6483 I'm in Australia, and we mix prepared horseradish cream and a little dab of sour cream with cooked whole baby beets to make a sweet and hot, and luridly fuscia-coloured salad. I love your recipe - can you tell me how, or with what this is eaten? Thanks. I’m in Australia, and we mix prepared horseradish cream and a little dab of sour cream with cooked whole baby beets to make a sweet and hot, and luridly fuscia-coloured salad.

I love your recipe - can you tell me how, or with what this is eaten?

Thanks.

]]> By: Subeast http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6467 Subeast Thu, 08 May 2008 21:05:55 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6467 Horseradish is a member of the mustard family (whose family includes its cousins, kale, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and the common radish). The tang and aroma of fresh horseradish is almost non existent until it is grated or ground. During the grinding/slicing process the cells of the horseradish are crushed and volatile (hot) oils known as isothiocyanate are released. Vinegar, when added, can stop this reaction and it helps stabilizes the flavor. As processed horseradish ages, it browns and loses potency. You should keep even the unopened jars in the refrigerator to protect the freshness and bite. Horseradish that remains unrefrigerated gradually loses flavor. Horseradish is a member of the mustard family (whose family includes its cousins, kale, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and the common radish). The tang and aroma of fresh horseradish is almost non existent until it is grated or ground. During the grinding/slicing process the cells of the horseradish are crushed and volatile (hot) oils known as isothiocyanate are released. Vinegar, when added, can stop this reaction and it helps stabilizes the flavor.

As processed horseradish ages, it browns and loses potency. You should keep even the unopened jars in the refrigerator to protect the freshness and bite. Horseradish that remains unrefrigerated gradually loses flavor.

]]> By: Maxine http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6452 Maxine Thu, 08 May 2008 19:02:31 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6452 I make horseradish every year with my grandpa for Passover. It is definitely one of the most lethal concoctions my eyes have ever felt (sort of a strange sentence, but it's true)! My grandpa makes the "russell" of beets and water a few weeks before so the beets ferment and get very sweet. But the grinding and straining of the horseradish is rough! I love your ski goggles suggestion and will most definitely come prepared next year! I make horseradish every year with my grandpa for Passover. It is definitely one of the most lethal concoctions my eyes have ever felt (sort of a strange sentence, but it’s true)! My grandpa makes the “russell” of beets and water a few weeks before so the beets ferment and get very sweet. But the grinding and straining of the horseradish is rough! I love your ski goggles suggestion and will most definitely come prepared next year!

]]> By: Ryan http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6442 Ryan Thu, 08 May 2008 18:32:52 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6442 Beet horseradish is an Easter tradition in my Ukrainian family. Since we moved from Ohio, though, we have a hard time finding really potent root--the stuff that will clear your sinuses well into next year and make you wish you'd been born without eyes--so our last few batches have been a little disappointing. Sounds like yours turned out nice and stiff, though! To answer your question, when you open up a horseradish root its enzymes begin to break the flesh down, producing mustard oil (allyl isothiocyanate--a naturally occurring insecticide and topical anesthetic) that irritates the eyes and sinuses. Vinegar neutralizes this reaction, but timing is everything: the earlier you add the vinegar to the ground root, the milder it will be. Unfortunately, because you ground your root into a paste, it's probably totally saturated with those hot oils. It may take months or years before your paste's pungency reaches an edible level. In my family, instead of making a paste, we shred the horseradish and the beets and combine them to make more of a relish. If the horseradish is good, it's nice and hot and putting your face in the pot will send you reeling--but it's still divine on kielbasa or with a creamy cheese. Eating the horseradish with fatty foods will help to cool its organ-dissolving effects. :) Thanks for the recipe. Congratulations on making it through the process alive! Beet horseradish is an Easter tradition in my Ukrainian family. Since we moved from Ohio, though, we have a hard time finding really potent root–the stuff that will clear your sinuses well into next year and make you wish you’d been born without eyes–so our last few batches have been a little disappointing. Sounds like yours turned out nice and stiff, though!

To answer your question, when you open up a horseradish root its enzymes begin to break the flesh down, producing mustard oil (allyl isothiocyanate–a naturally occurring insecticide and topical anesthetic) that irritates the eyes and sinuses. Vinegar neutralizes this reaction, but timing is everything: the earlier you add the vinegar to the ground root, the milder it will be. Unfortunately, because you ground your root into a paste, it’s probably totally saturated with those hot oils. It may take months or years before your paste’s pungency reaches an edible level.

In my family, instead of making a paste, we shred the horseradish and the beets and combine them to make more of a relish. If the horseradish is good, it’s nice and hot and putting your face in the pot will send you reeling–but it’s still divine on kielbasa or with a creamy cheese. Eating the horseradish with fatty foods will help to cool its organ-dissolving effects. :)

Thanks for the recipe. Congratulations on making it through the process alive!

]]> By: Cheryl http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6440 Cheryl Thu, 08 May 2008 18:06:45 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/when-horseradish-attacks/#comment-6440 I love this, and definitely can relate. My brother has horseradish plants/roots in his garden, and brings some for our Passover seder every year. We grind it up right before eating it - and see who can ingest the biggest horseradish & matzah sandwich and still function! I love this, and definitely can relate. My brother has horseradish plants/roots in his garden, and brings some for our Passover seder every year. We grind it up right before eating it - and see who can ingest the biggest horseradish & matzah sandwich and still function!

]]>