What is the name of the Japanese plant, used as a condiment in cooking, with a thick green root which tastes like strong horseradish?
Horseradish Horseradish Horseradish ("Armoracia rusticana", syn. "Cochlearia armoracia") is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, and cabbage). It is a root vegetable used as a spice and prepared as a condiment. The plant is probably native to southeastern Europe and western Asia. It is popular worldwide. It grows up to tall, and is cultivated primarily for its large, white, tapered root. The intact horseradish root has hardly any aroma. When cut or grated enzymes from the now-broken plant cells break down sinigrin (a glucosinolate) to produce allyl isothiocyanate (mustard oil), which irritates the mucous
Horseradish 1745, but Linnaeus himself called it "Coclearia armoracia". Both root and leaves were used as a medicine during the Middle Ages. The root was used as a condiment on meats in Germany, Scandinavia, and Britain. It was introduced to North America during European colonialization; both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson mention horseradish in garden accounts. William Turner mentions horseradish as "Red Cole" in his "Herbal" (1551–1568), but not as a condiment. In "The Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes" (1597), John Gerard describes it under the name of "raphanus rusticanus", stating that it occurs wild in several parts of England.