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Fresh Horseradish Blew Me Away

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From a related thread on the Boston board where folks were just trying to find the precious root...

I think I had only grated fresh horseradish once before and must have had a mediocre one cause I was not impressed.

I just blasted the one I got in the grater blade in my food processor (which was a bit on the coarse side) and then blasted it finer with the regular blade.

Where have you been all my life fresh horseradish is AMAZING. Fragrant, perfumey zingey yummy.

I made mine VERY simple, just the shredded root, and three kinds of vinegar (apple cider, rice wine, and some nice white wine Italian). Quite simply amazing stuff.

Served it with chopped liver and some gefilte fish. I'll never be able to eat the jarred stuff again.

Gotta make some roast beef to see how it stands up to that.

Yum, yum, yum!

Heck, nice article in today's NY Times too:


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  1. Where did you get it? Farmer's market?

    1 Reply
    1. re: sonia darrow

      Here in Boston they are available in most supermarkets, and there is a very very good specialty green grocer called Russo's that also had them. Mine was just from the local Stop and Shop.

    2. i know. come to Czech republic then. freshly grated horseradish is always served with a massive oink knuckle (with a carving knife right in the middle of it). a heavenly affinity.

      keep the root in the freezer and eat it all as fast as possible. stick a whole root in a deep container in early in autumn [?] and enjoy it all over again a year later.

      i brought mine back from Franconia (Bamberg and Nuernberg). they survived this year's harsh winter woohoo.

      1. I agree that there's nothing like freshly grated horseradish, but it seems to have a very short half-life, and the "heat" dissipates almost as soon as it hits the air. What's the secret of keeping it hot?

        2 Replies
        1. re: CindyJ

          I make fresh horseradish every passover...I simply toss it in a food processor with some white vinegar, a little salt and a little sugar. It can keep for several months..if the container can be sealed. I use the rubber mouth jars with the hinged lid. The important thing is to keep it sealed at ALL times...open it to spoon some out, then close it ASAP. Even when passing it around the table, you have to close it between people. If you do that it can easily keep for 6 months..actually more....but I wouldn't recommend more than 6 months.

          1. re: CindyJ

            From what I've read the longer you hold off on adding vinegar the hotter it will get. I make 5 lbs every year for Passover. I grind it with my meat grinder. I do this under my range hood to keep me from passing out. After grinding I add a touch of salt and then add the vinegar. Fresh, hot and flavorful. My extended family likes it red so I add a large raw beet to the grinder while grinding the horseradish root.

          2. I don't remember when or where I read it in someone's memoirs years ago, but they were raving about the fresh horseradish Lillian Hellman grew at her cottage on Martha's Vineyard - asked her what the secret was, and was told it was planted over the septic tank.

            1 Reply
            1. re: pasuga

              Ha Ha! Actually, I think anything grown over a septic tank will grow well!

            2. The original comment has been removed