Hot homemade horseradish preserves with vinegar, something to spice up your sandwich and clear your stuffy sinuses in seconds.
Ever thought about preserving your own horseradish? I didn’t, until recently. Why? Well, buying some nice fresh roots of horseradish around here can be a challenging task, I might have seen some a couple of times throughout the years, but really not often. And once I did actually buy a small root and paid so much for it, it really put me off from buying it again.
But then, recently, I realized my friend has a huge horseradish plant in her garden, she’s been having that for years, but somehow I had never really took notice of until now. So when I needed some fresh horseradish root to put into my green pickled tomatoes, I asked her if she has a small piece of horseradish root for me. “A small piece?”, she asked. “I have a whole bush if you want it.”
So she came in the evening with these large horseradish roots packed in newspapers, full of long “mustaches” and coated earth and told me that they are hard to get out of the ground, but I could get 20 times as much if I wanted (and if I dig for it myself… 🙂 ). No, I did not need that much, the amount she brought me was enough to get me through the winter, I would say.
As it was quite a large horseradish root, I grated and froze most of it and only preserved a smaller amount in vinegar. Keeping the vinegar preserved horseradish for long is not really an option, it will lose its hotness in the end, so I prefer to make small amounts and use the frozen horseradish for a fresh batch.
So, this is the first time, I have actually preserved horseradish myself, but that doesn’t mean I did not have it before. I always have a small jar of horseradish, often the creamed variety, in my fridge, I use it mostly when making beetroot salad or this filling for Beetroot Crepes or on sandwiches, and I am particularly thinking of smoked trout sandwiches with horseradish or leftover cold meat with horseradish sandwiches. I love that pungent, fiery flavor, horseradish takes any regular sandwich or salad dressing to a whole new level.
How to preserve horseradish in vinegar?
It couldn’t be easier: grate the horseradish, add some salt and vinegar and stuff into small jars.
But still, there are a few things to pay attention to when working with horseradish.
- Do make sure that you open a door or a window when working with horseradish. Or you could work outside if possible. Grating it will definitely clear your sinuses, but not only, it will make you cry as well. That is the main reason I actually prefer to process the horseradish in the food processor, my Vorwerk Thermomix TM5
, it takes seconds and it is better for my eyes.
- Vinegar stops the action of the enzymes contained by horseradish, so the moment you add the vinegar is pretty important. If you add the vinegar immediately after grating the horseradish, the final product will be milder. If you wait for a few minutes before adding the vinegar, the preserved horseradish will be stronger.
, it takes seconds and it is better for my eyes.- Make sure that the jars containing the horseradish are very well-sealed. I remember my grandmother saying that horseradish loses its power over time and that it is important to seal the jars very well. She would use cellophane for that, I prefer twist-off jars, but I have found out here that adding a tight layer of sticking plaster around the lid helps as well.
- I prefer to make small amounts of the preserved horseradish, it does lose its sharpness when kept for long. Keep the jars sealed in the fridge.
- After opening one jar, keep it in the fridge and consume as fast as possible, it will start loosing its fierceness once opened, so it should not be kept long after opening it.
How to Use Preserved Horseradish in Vinegar:
-
For sandwiches:
– with smoked trout or smoked salmon, cucumber slices and dill
– beetroot and feta with parsley or dill
– cold meats, leftover roast
-
For sauces:
– creamed horseradish: mix with some crème fraiche and enjoy with fish, roast, shrimps or vegetables
– mix some in white sauce and serve with the above-mentioned as well
– filling for Beetroot Pancakes
– dressing for beetroot salad: onions, horseradish, salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar and herbs
– regular dressing for salad: add ½ -1 teaspoon to your regular dressing
– make cocktail sauce by mixing horseradish to taste into ketchup
How to Make Preserved Horseradish in Vinegar
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Ingredients
- 200 g/ 7 oz fresh horseradish
- ca 100-150 ml/ ½ – 2/3 cup white wine vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Wash the horseradish roots very thoroughly and peel them using a vegetable peeler.
Either grate it by hand in a well-ventilated room or cut it into chunks and process it for a few seconds in the food processor.
Mix it with the salt and vinegar. Don’t add too much vinegar, the mixture should be wet but not sopping wet.
Stuff the horseradish into small jars, pushing down with a small wooden rolling pin or something similar. If the mixture seems to be too dry on top, pour a few more drops of vinegar in the jars.
Screw the lids of the jars on top and seal them with some sticking plaster for good measure. Keep refrigerated.
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2 comments
What a great post, Adina!! I have always been curious on how to make homemade horseradish and your post answered all my questions. 😉 I never liked it when I first came to Germany, but it’s one of those things that grew on me. I love smearing it over Leberwurst … I love the kick you get from it. I usually buy the creamy, mild one from Lidl. Try horseradish in mashed potatoes. It really is yummy. My husband loves it whenever I make but my kids won’t touch it (of course). 🙂 Thanks for sharing! Love your photos!! Have a great day!!
Thank you for all the tips, especially the timing of vinegar’s addition is precious: this is probably why my two attempts of preserving horseradish always gave mild results… I looooove horseradish and here also I find it very rarely raw (usually in the autumn), as for the jars they are just too creamy and mild here… (luckily I sometimes find Polish horseradish jars in a multi-ethnic shop!).
I also prefer the fresh one grated, so thank you for the grating and freezing tip! I do grate and freeze wasabi when I come back from Japan but never thought of horseradish…