It is unlikely that there will be a person who does not like the spicy traditional seasoning of horseradish for meat or fish dishes. And some use it not only in cooking, but even prepare healing settings for various ailments.
To always have in stock and apply universal roots as needed, it is useful to know how to store horseradish at home until a new crop.
Using the available tips, the prepared product will retain useful qualities, taste and aroma for a long time.
Preparation of horseradish for storage
For storage of horseradish it is best to take 2-3 year old roots, it is at this age that they are concentrated maximum benefit and taste. Since too young are not yet sharp, and old ones become coarse and fibrous for food. If the vegetable grows in its own garden, then they dig up horseradish in late October or early November. The main thing is to do this before the first frost, otherwise the horseradish will not be suitable for storage, because it will become brittle. After the plant is dug up, it needs to be sorted and only the best rhizomes left. If horseradish is purchased on the market, you should adhere to this rule.
Such horseradish roots are suitable for storage:
• intact, without signs of damage;
• medium size, at least a finger thick;
• strong, juicy;
• the cut must be white;
• without leaves.
Then it remains to shake off the roots from the excess earth, dry the future harvest in a warm, well-ventilated room and decide on a suitable storage option for horseradish.
How to store horseradish at home in the cellar
For owners of their own home, a way to store horseradish in a cellar or basement is suitable.
To roots perfectly survive the winter, without losing all the unique qualities, you can use the following practical tips for storing horseradish at home:
1. The use of wooden boxes and sand. For this method, horseradish does not need to be washed, just shake off excess soil. In wooden boxes, it is necessary to arrange the root crops in a row so that they do not touch each other. Then pour clean, sifted sand with a thickness of 3 cm. Next, lay the next row of horseradish and do the same, the number of layers may be at your discretion.
Helpful advice: for the safety and freshness of horseradish, sand moisture should be maintained. Using a spray gun, you need to evenly spray it with water once a week. The optimum temperature in the basement should not be lower than 0 ° and up to + 2 ° C, and humidity within 80-90%.
2. Sealed storage of horseradish in a plastic bag. For this option, the sorted roots are dipped in a container of cold water and washed thoroughly. Then they must be laid out on a paper surface and dried well. Prepared root vegetables should be placed in clean bags and filled with air to a dense state (inflate).
Interesting: improvised sealed packaging will help to maintain horseradish at home until at least the beginning of spring.
3. Horseradish storage using peat. In this case, unwashed vegetables are laid out in a row, and crushed peat crumb is poured on top (the layer is from 3 to 5 cm). This method is preferred by many experienced summer residents, since the time interval for the preservation of products significantly increases even with small frosts.
On a note: bThanks to peat litter, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of putrefactive processes, the appearance of white and blue mold, since peat has antiseptic properties and eliminates pathogenic bacteria.
In the absence of a cellar, using the same technology, you can save horseradish on a glazed balcony by covering the boxes with a blanket during frosts.
How to store horseradish at home with a refrigerator
It is very convenient to store horseradish at home using a refrigerator.
There are two simple ways in which you can extend the freshness of the roots:
• horseradish storage on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. For this, root crops must be washed, dried with a paper towel and laid out in bags or wrapped in cling film. Having resorted to this option, you can use the product for a month, after which it will already lose its elasticity and freshness. In the presence of a special tight container, the shelf life will increase to 3 months;
• to keep horseradish for a long time at home and always have fresh throughout the winter, it is better to place it in the freezer. Clean, dried roots are cut into batch pieces for convenience and placed on a baking sheet in one layer. Then sent to the camera for quick freezing. Pack the blanks in packages - at any time the product is suitable for use, and most importantly, all the useful and tasteful properties remain in it.
The advantage of storage in the freezer is compactness, availability at any time, as well as a long shelf life (1 year). In addition, a sauce or seasoning made from a frozen billet is almost impossible to distinguish from a fresh root.
Storage of horseradish in the form of dry powder and fresh seasoning
An equally common way of storing horseradish is to procure dried raw materials in an oven or in a natural way. The baking sheet should be covered with parchment paper and place the rhizomes cut into thin plates on it. Then send to the oven at a temperature of 45 ° C until completely dry. The cooled pieces are crushed in a coffee grinder, and the resulting powder is poured into clean glass jars, tightly closing the lid. Horseradish is stored at home prepared this way for more than a year.
If desired, you can dry the horseradish in the sun. Then peeled and cut roots need to be decomposed on cardboard or plywood, leaving them to dry until the moisture completely evaporates. In practice, it is noted that horseradish dries much longer in a natural way, therefore, in order to save time, it is better to resort to an electric dryer for vegetables or an oven.
Another good way to keep horseradish at home for a long time is to cook the spice / sauce from fresh roots. For a basic recipe, they should be grated or twisted in a meat grinder, add vinegar, salt, sugar to taste. Then put in glass containers and preserve. For reliability, containers can be pasteurized, although due to the antibacterial qualities of horseradish, such blanks stand 3-4 months in a cold place without this process. For a variety of tastes, some housewives add beetroot or lemon juice, allspice and other spices to their appetizer. If the sauce is supposed to be eaten within a few days, then vinegar can be omitted. Since it plays the role of a preservative, allowing you to save horseradish at home not only for a long time, but also not to lose its pungent taste and signature aroma.
