Making horseradish

     Tonight, I made some horseradish sauce for the first time.  It was very easy.  I had dug up the tops of the plants making sure to leave some good roots in the ground so it will start again next year.  I waited until the frost had sufficiently froze the tops which took a couple cold nights.  Horseradish is a tough plant. 

    It grow very well.  Many articles that I read said it is best to wait a year before harvesting much, if any.  I planted my roots from Jung in the spring and this fall had some nice big plants.  Three of the five actually took but it was plenty.  I put a couple of the extra pieces of root in the row where it didn't take this year so next year I should have it filled in.

     Okay, back to making the horseradish.  Like I said it is very easy.  Wash it well, peel it, stick it in the blender or a food processor and chop it up.  Let it set for a few minutes.  The longer it sets the hotter it should be, that is before adding the vinegar and water.  You can find recipes online but the one I found used two to three cups of horseradish, one half cup of both vinegar and water.  Blend it all together and put it in jars.  Now what gets easier than that?

     Be careful working with it.  It can be very intense.  When I was peeling the roots, I had no problems but as soon as I began to blend it my eyes would burn when the lid was opened.

     I did not try any yet.  I plan to make some ham sandwiches with it tomorrow.  I will see if I can give a few jars away at work, since one jar will likely last me a while.  I made about half of the roots into sauce.  The rest I put in plastic bags and put in the freezer to make at a later date.  Over time, the sauce will loose its flavor.