Horseradish is in the same plant family as broccoli, mustard, wasabi, and cabbage.  The horseradish root has hardly any aroma when it’s pulled from the ground, but when it’s cut or grated, it produces an oil which affects the sinuses and eyes.

Horseradish was brought to North America during the European colonization. George Washington mentions it in his garden accounts.

INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS

THE HORSERADISH
This has been, for many years, a favorite accompaniment of roast beef, and is a native of England. It grows wild in wet ground, but has long been cultivated in the garden and is occasionally used in winter salads and in sauces. On account of the great volatility of its oil, it should never be preserved by drying, but should be kept moist by being buried in sand. So rapidly does its volatile oil evaporate, that even when scraped for the table, it almost immediately spoils by exposure to the air.

HORSERADISH SAUCE
Grate four tablespoons of horseradish and mix it well with one teaspoon of pounded sugar, one teaspoon salt, one-half teaspoon pepper, and two teaspoons of made mustard.* Moisten it with sufficient vinegar to give it the consistency of cream, and serve in a tureen. Three or four tablespoons of cream added very much improves the appearance and flavor of this sauce.

To heat it to serve with hot roast beef, put it in a bain marie* or a jar, and place in a saucepan of boiling water. Make it hot, but do not allow it to boil or it will curdle.

*made-mustard (prepared mustard) – made from mustard seeds and/or powder.
*bain marie –  also called a water bath or double boiler.

HORSERADISH VINEGAR
Put one-fourth pound of scraped horseradish, one ounce of minced shallot, and one-eighth ounce of cayenne into one quart of vinegar. Pour all into a bottle and shake well every day for a fortnight,* When it is thoroughly steeped, strain and bottle, and it will be fit for use immediately. This vinegar should be made either in October or November, as horseradish is then in its highest perfection.

*fortnight – a period of two weeks.

RAVIGOTE SAUCE
Put in a stew-pan one middle-sized onion sliced, with a little carrot, a little thyme, one bay-leaf, one clove, a little mace, a little scraped horseradish, and a little butter. Fry a few minutes, then add three teaspoons of vinegar, ten tablespoons of brown sauce, and four of broth. When boiling, skim, and add a tablespoon of currant jelly. When melted, pass all through a sieve and serve with any kind of meat or poultry; with hare or venison it is excellent.

TOMATO CATSUP
Take one-half bushel tomatoes and stew sufficiently to be strained through a colander. To every gallon of pulp, add three quarts strong vinegar, two tablespoons salt, four tablespoons grated horseradish, one pound brown sugar, three large onions chopped fine, and one tablespoon black pepper. Boil till quite thick, bottle, and cork tightly.

RED PEPPER CATSUP
To four dozen fine ripe bell-peppers, add two quarts good vinegar, one quart water, three tablespoons grated horseradish, and five onions chopped fine. Boil till soft and rub through a sieve. Then season to your taste with salt, and black and white mustard well beaten. Boil  ten minutes. Add celery-seed if liked, and a pod or more strong pepper, and a little sugar. All should be cut up and the seed boiled with it. Bottle and cork tightly.

PEPPER SAUCE

• Two dozen peppers.
• Twice this quantity of cabbage.
• One root of horseradish, cut up fine.
• One tablespoon mustard-seed.
• One dessertspoon* cloves.
• Two tablespoons sugar.
• A little mace.

Boil the spices and sugar in two quarts of best cider vinegar, and pour boiling hot over the cabbage and pepper.

*dessertspoon – two teaspoons.

HORSERADISH SAUCE
Must be prepared just before using. Mix together five tablespoons scraped or grated horseradish, two teaspoons sugar, one teaspoon salt, one-half teaspoon pepper, one tablespoon mixed mustard, one tablespoon vinegar, and four tablespoons rich sweet cream.

KEEPING MUSTARD
Dissolve three ounces of salt in a quart of boiling vinegar, and pour it hot upon two ounces of scraped horseradish. Cover the jar closely and let it stand twenty-four hours. Strain it and then mix it by degrees with the best flour of mustard.* Make it of the usual thickness, and beat it till quite smooth. Then put it into wide-mouthed bottles and stop it closely.

*flour of mustard / mustard flour – dry mustard, ground mustard seed or mustard seed powder.

TO MAKE A SPICED MUSTARD
Take a tumbler* of vinegar, and place therein two saltspoons* of salt, a salt-spoon of scraped horseradish, and half a saltspoon of powdered cloves. At the end of three day, strain off the liquid and add a sufficiency of mustard-flour—about three ounces—to make a thick paste.

*tumbler – one-half pint.
*saltspoon – a miniature spoon used with an open salt cellar for individual use before table salt was free-flowing.

HORSERADISH SAUCE
Grate one teacup* horseradish, one tablespoon ground mustard, one teaspoon turmeric, one tablespoon sugar, four tablespoons vinegar, or olive oil if preferred. Pepper and salt. Mix well and serve.

*teacup – same as a jill or gill; four ounces in the U.S. and five ounces in the U.K.

HESSIAN SAUCE
Mix four tablespoons of freshly grated horseradish with an equal quantity of fresh bread-crumbs, a tablespoon of sugar, and a little salt and pepper. Mix to a smooth paste with sour cream and serve with baked fish.

WHIPPED CREAM SAUCE
Mix a teaspoon of dry mustard with a tablespoon of vinegar and two tablespoons of freshly grated horseradish. Mix with one fourth cup of Mayonnaise and when smooth, fold in carefully one cup of whipped cream. Season with salt and red pepper and serve very cold with cold fish.

HORSERADISH
Wash clean some roots of horseradish, wipe them dry, and scrape off the outside. Then grate the sticks of horseradish with a large grater. Put some of the grated horseradish into a large saucer or small deep plate, and moisten it with good cider vinegar, but do not put so much vinegar as will render it liquid. Send it to table with roast beef or mutton.

Image from Deposit Photos

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