Same family story here--sit outside to grate, plenty of kleenex handy and keep fingers away from your eyes! I tried it once but must have had a bad one because it wasn't very strong or tasty. Did mine in the kitchen. Sandy

Horseradish is very easy to make. It is basically just horseradish root, salt, vinegar and a little water. Although many recommend taking your food processor outside, I make mine in the house and have never had a problem.

I just peel the root, cut it into chunks and pulse it in the food processor with a couple of tablespoons of water until it is the right texture. Wait at least three minutes before adding vinegar. The vinegar apparently stabilizes the level of hotness. The longer you wait the hotter the horseradish will be. I usually wait 5 minutes. Add a tablespoon of vinegar and a little salt. Stir. Refrigerate.

Thank you, Ann! I may never make it after the first try, but the stuff we bought in the store today already looks like it is browning. What I got from the club in January still is nice and light. We are down to half a jar, but I use at least a teaspoon in his salad dressing each week, plus with what he eats, and Easter ham.... it isn't going to last long! Can I just put it in half pint canning jars and can it? or just refrigerate it?

Tami

I'm assuming you're buying horseradish root, not digging it.

This is about as late in the season as you would want to purchase to get good horseradish. Late fall is optimal, though horseradish can be dug through the winter if the ground isn't too hard. But once the horseradish starts to get new spring growth, the roots are not as good. Even buying, you'll get better horseradish in season.

Wash the root and peel or scrape (like a carrot). Ideally you'd grind it but you can use a food processor. I do ours out on the patio with a good breeze. It can get very potent, especially if you're doing large amounts.

If you use a food processor, one way is to cut the root in chunks, add a little water and then pulse. Or you could try a shredding blade but it would have to be a fine one. The last thing you want is big shreds of horseradish.

Now, the key to the heat is the vinegar. If you've added water, drain that off. If you've ground or shredded, that's not an issue. You're going to add enough vinegar to moisten the horseradish. You can use distilled white or cider vinegar. Distilled white has the least effect on color or taste.

Adding the vinegar stops the enzymatic action that produces the heat. So if you add vinegar as soon as you're done grinding, the horseradish will be mild. You have a three-minute window of opportunity. Wait three minutes to add the vinegar and it will be as hot as it gets. You can salt if you want. I don't.

I usually grind a good amount of horseradish. It's not one of those "fun" jobs I'm eager to do often, LOL. I put the ground horseradish-vinegar in small glass canning jars and freeze it. It keeps very well that way.

Carol

You are welcome Tami. I usually just make two jars at a time and I keep one and give the other one to my son Matthew. I just refrigerate it . It will last in the fridge about 6 weeks.

If you are going to make a huge batch then you could do as Carol has suggested and freeze it.

Ann

We go through a lot of horseradish DH likes it on almost everything. After trying several from the super market that he said were not hot enough I bought the house brand, First Street, from Smart & Final. It comes in a 34oz jar and makes my eyes water when I open a new one. ItÂs really hot but dose lose some potency over time.

Claudia

That 34-oz. jar sounds like a great buy. You could divide up the contents and freeze if you have the space; that way it will not lose its strength.

A lot of the mild commercial horseradish is actually a blend of horseradish and turnip, so if you want a really hot jar be sure to check the label.

Carol

CarolÂ.

The ingredients are listed:
Fresh horseradish
Distilled vinegar
Soybean oil
Salt
Flavoring, sodium bisulfate
And sodium benzoate as a preservatives
Distributed by Amerifood in L.A. Ca.

I donÂt know if that good or not, flavoring and preservatives, but DH loves this stuff so I will keep buying it and the next jar I will freeze half to see if it keeps the potency. Thanks for that tip. If I remember correctly itÂs about 4 dollars

Claudia

Your DH loves it and the price is great, so it sounds like a real winner for your family.

I'm not sure why the soybean oil is in there or what flavoring might be added, but the preservatives are pretty standard.

Carol

I haven't made horseradish in years, but I planted some roots two years ago and they'll be ready to use this fall.

I've always done it the way Carol suggests, but with a hand grater because I never had a food processor. Grandma used a hand grater too, but Dad used the blender. Add vinegar and salt and refrigerate.

I don't remember how we stored it, so I'm glad Carol posted the freezing suggestion, I was wondering if I canned it or froze it.

Annie

Thank you all so much! I keep what we have in the frige stored upside down. Right this minute I can't remember why, seems like it stays fresh longer. I will look in the store this week to see if I can get some root and give it a try. You've given me great instructions! I have a mini food processor that I never use, so I can dedicate that to the horseradish. There is an outside plug not far from our picnic table, so it will be done out there! I have room in one of the freezers right now, so I can freeze what he won't use right away.

Happy Easter!

Tami

How interesting. I just made horseradish 2 days ago. Know it's the 'wrong' time of year, but with moving, I had to dig up my roots to bring them to the new house. One was huge--really huge. I pulled off about 4 roots with new growth to plant, and brought the rest inside and still got about a cup of ground horseradish after I pared and processed it.

I'm glad to know it freezes well. I'm the only one who eats horseradish here, so it takes me a while to get through a batch of it. It occurred to me that staying in the ground all winter doesn't hurt the roots, so I did toss a freezer bag of it in the freezer (and yes, my entire fridge smells). BTW--I just grind it in the house. Yes, you smell it for a little while, and if you stand right by the processor, you do cry a little, but it's all temporary.

(I just add enough water to get things moving in the processor, a bit of salt, and then the vinegar.)

My dd was so funny as a small child--maybe 4? We were at a buffet somewhere, and they had a roast beef carving station, with horseradish, of course. She put a little pile of it on her plate, and someone commented to me, "She won't like that, it's horseradish--she'll get a nasty surprise when she eats it." Well, they were the ones surprised--my daughter already loved horseradish at that age, and would eat the ground stuff like a vegetable--by the forkful. My dad's family's genes coming out--we all love it.

When I was growing up we used one of the hand-cranked grinders screwed to an old wooden table out next to the woodshed. But then, we packed horseradish in quarts, so you can imagine the quantities we were dealing with.

At that time, it was ground horseradish in the jars, cover with vinegar and stash on the shelf in the keeping room. It kept a long time. No canning, no freezing. I have no idea as to its food safety, though 100% vinegar is pretty potent. But then on a farm you build some pretty good immunities.

It is fun to remember those days (more fun probably because horseradish prep was my dad's job!). Like your daughter, the only horseradish we knew was the hottest of the hot, and we ate a lot of it starting at a very young age.

Carol