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!
Posted on April 6, 2008 in condiments by Elana
other entries you may like: Beet Maror
or Sesame Dip
or Green Goddess Dressing
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"Check out Elana's FAQ page for info on substitutions -- there are just too many possibilities so she can't answer all of these : ) But the Forums are an excellent resource and I highly recommend posting your substitution questions there; everyone is friendly and helpful." -Katie
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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
WARNING! WARNING WILL ROBINSON! DANGER!
WHEN YOU MAKE ANYTHING WITH HORSERADISH
MAKE IT OUTSIDE! THE FUMES ARE DEADLY!!!!!!!!!
This city girl moved to the country with an already established garden with a patch of horseradish. I remember the rhyme to only
pick it in months that end in an "r". So i waited until Novembe"r". Needless to say within
moments of peeling and grinding the horseradish my
two little girls were wrapped in blankets sitting
outside on the cold front steps waiting for the
house to air out! This simple warning should be
the first line in any recipe!
Konnie- thanks for reiterating what I detailed in step 3 of the recipe. I haven't actually had to air out my house after making this, perhaps the horseradish I've used has not been as potent as yours. Though I have been making this for close to a decade...
Hi Elana,
I emailed with you over a year ago when I was first diagnosed with Celiac. You were so kind and gave me a quick orientation to my new life. I love my new life with my GF diet - my husband and I are enjoying the creativity of cooking whole, delicious, healthy food.
Your website is my favorite GF recipe resource! I have never been much of a cook and I have enjoyed the easy and healthy recipes you post - even I can make them without screwing it up! My favorites of course are the sweets - Almond Blondies (my book club asks for them everytime), Brownies, Lemon Poppyseed muffins, and yesterday I made the Macadamia nut clusters (with cashews). YUMMY!
With Passover approaching, I was wondering if you had come up with a way to make GF matzah? Or do you know where I could buy some?
Thanks,
Elana from Denver
elana,
you can use soy sour cream if you can have soy. tofutti makes great soy sour cream i use to eat when i was vegan in college. it was really, really tasty and about the same consistency and taste.
Hi Elana,
My dad really likes horseradish and, after trying some homemade horseradish at a party, he hasn't been content with the pre-jarred stuff. I have two questions about this recipe. First, how strong is this to eat? Second, have you ever made a red/beet version? Thanks!