Horseradish: Make Your Own Maror
As part of the Passover Seder, we eat a bitter herb, to remind us of the bitter times our people have faced.
Many use horseradish for this ritual. I grew up eating Manischewitz brand ground horseradish from a jar at our Seders, with no concept whatsoever of where this pungent herb came from. In fact, horseradish is a root –you can buy it from the store (most good health food stores carry it this time of year), and is about the size of a carrot, though light brown, reminiscent of the color of a parsnip.
These days, I make my own maror from scratch; it is a breeze to prepare, though slightly dangerous, so beware!
1 horseradish root (about 4 inches), peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Combine all ingredients in food processor
- Pulse until horseradish is well ground
- Carefully remove lid; do not inhale or smell mixture, as it may burn eyes and nasal passages)
- Store in a glass container
- Serve
The week after next, I will go into my son’s classroom and assist the third graders in making 26 batches of charoset–enough to feed more than 100 people. The children will be preparing this dish for the class Sedar, in which their families will partake. During my time in the classroom, the children and I will also make the maror for their Sedar. No Manischewitz for these little ones –they will not grow up thinking that horseradish sprouts in a bottle!
Have any of you made your own horseradish sauce or maror? Seen an actual horseradish root? Please leave your horseradish trials, tribulations, knowledge or lack thereof in the comments section!
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Subscribe by Email to elanaspantry.com:Posted on April 6, 2008 in condiments by Elana
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One of my favorite Passover memories, and, mind you, I’m not Jewish, but I love Passover and until we moved away, celebrated it with dear, dear friends every year–is our dear friend David, grating fresh horseradish for dinner–wearing a diving mask, and snorkel. That stuff is PUNGENT.
April 6th, 2008 9:55 pm
oh yum! Last year I was walking in the Lower East Side of Manhattan and happened upon a corner store that was selling fresh horseradish root. My jaw completely dropped - I’d never even thought about where the jarred stuff came from before! I made a promise to myself to grate my own from then on.
Leah
The Jew & The Carrot
http://jcarrot.org
April 7th, 2008 1:47 pm
I am new to this site & just learned about the lentil pasta, only to find out that IT HAS BEEN CONTINUED ! AHHHHHHH…….. Does anyone else make lentil pasta ???? Thanks , Gina
April 12th, 2008 5:41 pm
Paige- I just figured out that you are the Paige who is a friend of a friend. I hang out on your blog now and then and hope you all have made the transition with your move to NY. It took us a couple of years to adapt when we moved from NY to CO. Love your horseradish-scuba mask story. Thanks.
Leah- Hope you have fun grating your own this year. Happy Pesach.
Gina - I think I received an email from you about this on Friday. I am going to call the company this week and beg them not to discontinue the product. Last time I did this they reinstated it. However, they also said that with fuel prices and food prices escalating they would need to start charging an outrageous amount per box (somewhere around $8 +). Maybe they can’t keep up with costs and this product will kick the bucket. I sure hope not as it is the only high protein pasta I know of and I will be so bummed if they don’t have it –no more pasta for me and I sure do like my spaghetti and turkey meatballs.
April 13th, 2008 9:39 pm
I used to grow my own horseradish and love horseradish with cream. Try this:
100 grams freshly grated horseradish
200 grams creme fraiche or cream
juice of 1 lemon
Slowly add lemon juice to the cream. Continue to stir until it has thickened. Add the horseradish and leave to sit at room temperature for 1 hour or more.
Use on avocado slices, for potato salad, on bean salads, as a mayonnaise, any any other way you can think of.
April 21st, 2008 4:57 am
Hi Vege-
Thanks for stopping by! I really like your horseradish recipe (I will make it with the lemon juice) not sure what to use in place of the cream, since I have gone dairy-free during the past year. Love the idea to spread on avocados. I think a sesame cracker, topped with avo and horseradish sounds like the perfect snack.
Elana
April 23rd, 2008 8:43 pm