Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana G. M. Sch.)

 

Horseradish root

Used plant part

Root, nearly always used fresh or pickled.

Plant family

Brassicaceae (cabbage family).

Sensoric quality

Intact horseradish root does not exhibit much aroma, but on cutting, shredding and especially grating, a pungent and lachrymatory, very strong odour is released. This odour is, however, not stable but vanishes after some ten or twenty minutes.

Japanese horseradish, also called wasabi, is nearly indistinguishable from horseradish in taste, but a little bit stronger. Since its never used in sour sauces, it cannot be substituted by canned horseradish, but possibly by fresh one.

Main constituents

The pungent principle of horseradish is allyl isothiocyanate, which is enzymatically produced from sinigrin (see black mustard seeds).

Origin

The plant is thought to be of Mediterranean or Eastern European origin, and is now widely cultivated in Central and Eastern Europe.

Etymology

German Meerrettich literally means "more radish" or "greater radish", indicating the stronger aroma of horseradish compared to garden radish (Raphanus sativus). The similarity of the first element of this name to German Meer "sea" is purely coincidental.
The Southern German term Kren is a slavic loan (Czech kren, Russian khrjen and Polish chrzan) and ultimately of unknown origin.

The English name horseradish is allegedly derived by misinterpretation of the German Meerrettich as mare radish ("mare" being the English term for a female horse, for those of other mother-tongues). The word radish (or German Rettich) itself derives, in last consequence, from Latin radix "root".

Swedish pepparrot "pepperroot" contains peppar "pepper" and rot "root", which is distantly related to the former mentioned Latin radix.

The origin of the botanical genus name Armoracia, which has been in use by European botanists since the late Middle Age, is dark; connections to the Celtic tribe of Armoricans have sometimes be claimed, but do not have an historic basis.
 

 

Horseradish (flowering plant) www.botanikus.de

Horseradish is a very popular spice in Central and Northern Europe, where the fresh root is grated and eaten together with ham or cooked or roasted meat (e.g., British roastbeef); at Easter time, ham with horseradish is a traditional meal in Austria. Since the aroma is so volatile and instable, the tearful process of grating must be repeated several times during the meal. Tinned horseradish products are available, but true lovers of the root think them inferior, though much more convenient.

The pungent allyl isothiocyanate is not heat resistant; therefore, horseradish is only seldom used for warm dishes and then added immediately before serving. Even in cold water, allyl isothiocyanate is not stable for longer than a few minutes. However, in sour environment the hydrolyzation of thiocyanates takes place much more slowly. In Austria, freshly grated horseradish (or tinned product) is frequently mixed with grated apples (sour varieties preferred, otherwise some lemon juice is needed) and then eaten as a spicy relish to fried or cooked meat. This mixture (Apfelkren) can be stored for about one day without substantial loss in pungency. To prevent darkening of the apples (enzymatic oxidation of phenolic compounds by oxygen), the grated apples may be cooked for a few minutes before the horseradish is added.

For a comparision of different pungent spices, see sichuan pepper.