Unfortunately, horseradish will lose most all of its 'character' if its even attempted to be home canned. Its usually fresh made and refrigerated. I do not know of any brand other than bland ones as sauces that have stuff added to make them shelf stable. I dig up a root or two every December, clean it of all dirt and discolortion and chop it up in a blender. Careful, keep your nose out of there!! Here in Z6 the ground doesn't freeze hard until late December/January. I add a small amount of water and a dash of salt or vinegar, but only ONE or the other, as both salt and vinegar together tend to break it down faster. Thats the main reason you only see commercially prepared in the refrigerator section of supermarkets, and they have water added only. It darkens from cream color to a light tan color after a month of storage. After a month, its strength is less, but still good. after two months, its usually milder still. Three months in the fridge and its almost meant for baby food (almost!). I almost lost all of mine three years ago, when I added a bit of iron to the soil around it. It has just this year produced about 8 big crowns. One time, I bought a chunk of fresh at an organic market. Its root size was as big as my wrist! Mine never gets that big, but it is a lot less invasive compared to some plantings. You could dry it as solid slices and then grind it in a blender into a powder, but once it at that level, its very irritating, and loses it 'punch' right off. The stronger radish powder is Wasabi, most are a blend, and lack true wasbi roots, but they all have a similar flavor that can still bring tears to your eyes and nose.

This recipe: http://recipecircus.com/recipes/Katie/PRESERVING/Smoky_Chipotle_Ketchup.html Harvest Forum Smoky Chipotle Ketchup Recipe By :Katie Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Preserving Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 5 lbs. ripe tomatoes -- coarsely chopped 1 large onion -- finely chopped 1 large poblano chili -- finely chopped 2 jalapeno chilies -- coarsely chopped 4 canned chipotle chilies -- (2-5) chopped 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1 cup dark brown sugar 1 tsp. celery seed 1 1/2 tsp. mustard seed 1 tsp. black pepper 1 1/2 tsp. salt Combine all ingredients in large, heavy nonreactive pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and sauce is reduced by one-fourth. Puree in a food processor or food mill, or use a stick blender. Strain through a sieve if desired. Bring to a boil and simmer until quite thick and dark brownish red. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month, or process in a boiling water bath: 15 minutes at 0-1000 ft., 20 minutes at 1001- 6000 ft. and 25 minutes above 6000 ft. Pretty sure it's been posted here before. Cindy

Oh ... Old fashioned apple butter cooked in a big copper kettle over an open fire. DH's grandfather in WV used to make the most awesomely amazing apple butter. Never had anything come close since his passing :-( and nobody knows what happened to the kettle.

Sorry for my knee jerk reaction. Here's the science behind my comment. It is always recommended NOT to use commercial jars because they are not of the same heft/thermal shock resistance as jars sold specifically for home canning. The risk with the glass part of the jar from a random store product, is that it is much easier to break under the wide variety of boiling water and freezing conditions that it might be put to in a home canning situation by the average home canner. Small cracks and chip can also compromise the seal. I myself am an inveterate jar dropper/jar jostler, and have had a few memorable thermal shock mistakes in my day . . . The second problem is the lids. The enamel or metal coating is thin and could get nicked or broken, causing the seal to fail or rust to get a foothold. They are not designed for reuse. However, as someone who has canned for 30 years and also studied and used old canning tools and techniques, I find myself being cynical and disappointed at how increasingly wasteful the process has become. I have seen canning jars and lids get thinner over the years, with obvious research going in to just how thin they can make the lid coatings and rubber gasket and jar, so that it can withstand one use, but is likely to fail upon a second or god-forbid a third . . . Quite frankly modern lids have such thin rubber that I am starting to find seal failures upon first use occasionally. I've also seen in recent times, glass, which is a relatively easy product to recycle, become un-recyclable due to China stopping accepting it. That is pretty ironic during times we decry the loss of American jobs. But we have been conditioned to not want or like the recycled glass products by the plastics industry, so they are no longer economical. And what good are canning jars and rubber gasket that you can re-use for thirty years, where's the profit in that? Hence the development of new safety rules and the disappearance of the older jars and seals from the market. Always with the sly safety reference, but if you understand the science, it's mostly marketing. Some are a little less "fool-proof" than the newer methods, but then why have we become such a group of fools? (Rhetorical and exaggerated comment). Not saying it's not great to develop easier canning methods, for those novice or wanting to extend as little effort as possible, but that doesn't make older methods unsafe when employed by someone who knows what they are doing. Not pooh poohing real safety science mind you. But what is no longer or never rigorously tested, is not necessarily safe or not safe. We can no longer say because there is no data . . . I rarely buy commercial jams. So when I did due to just having a canning dry spell, and also a canning jar shortage, I looked at the jars from some recently purchased jams, and said, "No reason I can't reuse these. Glass looks thick enough and jar lids are fresh, good rubber, and have pop top so I can monitor the seal. Not saying this is going to become my "go to" way of doing it, but at least two glass jars were kept from the landfill!