Mayonnaise and Horseradish (not mixed together)

[elfs]

Mayonnaise

I did the math this weekend and discovered that home-made mayonnaise is pretty darned expensive. A back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates that store-bought mayonnaise, even the relatively good stuff, is about 10.8¢, whereas making it myself with decent olive oil it comes out to about 33.8¢.

Which doesn't mean I'll stop making mayonnaise, especially not since I can herb and mix it myself.

Horseradish

Utterly unsatisfied with any of the offerings from the various stores around my neighborhood, I bought some raw horseradish root and tried preparing my own with a microchopper. It was less than satisfactory. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. According to preparation instructions, horseradish releases its burning concoction when the plant cells are crushed, so maybe instead of chopping I should push it through the high-speed grater?

I also tried leaving it out for a long time, as that apparently causes it to get stronger before you add the vinegar to stop the strengthening process.

Ah, well.

Comments

[hugh-mannity.livejournal.com]

My understanding of horseradish is that it gets grated very finely rather than chopped. But I've never made any myself. That's what I was told by the cook who'd made the good stuff.

[amberite2112.livejournal.com]

try a mortar and pestle. a bit labour intensive, but there's more than one way to feel the burn, iykwim.

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

Whenever I've done anything with horseradish (preparing for Seder, making mustard, etc.) I've used a grater and it's worked out just fine.

If you like mustard you should try making your own!

[sianmink.livejournal.com]

microchopper?

You should grate it by hand.

on sharkskin.

:D

[wyrdone.livejournal.com]

Know anyone with a Juicer?

Clean well before hand, juice and collect the now extermely fine shredded pulp from exit bin. Add back some of the juice.

Or if you have a food processor, find the smallest grater disk and use that.

[alienor77310.livejournal.com]

I usually make mayonnaise with a neutral oil such as sunflower. I find olive oil a bit overpowering for a mayonnaise, unless balanced with a healthy amount of garlic to make aioli.

[shunra.livejournal.com]

I think the missing ingredient in horseradish is the fermentation byproducts (same as the diff between sauerkraut and that odd vinegary thing sold under the same name).

My guess would be that fermentation would occur within one to three weeks in a saltwater medium (in glass or glazed ceramic, no air bubbles). Alternatively (and I haven't tried this), you might make a horseradish mix and try processing it with kefir grains (I buy them from the local food co-op; they're packaged by "Omega Nutrition") - that tends to take any wet mushy substance and give it the umami tang that is missing. (Pulped sunflower seeds are amazing kefired.)

[laplor.livejournal.com]

I think your cost calculation says something about the quality of the ingredients that go into the mayonnaise you buy in the store, even allowing for the fact that you've paid markups on your ingredients that the manufacturers don't.

About horseradish, I have no comment. I only taste it if I get invited to a Seder meal.

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

It's my understanding that horseradish works better finely grated than chopped. My AB Trick for grating fibrous stuff like horseradish and ginger is: use the spiky side of a box grater. Before you start, wrap the grater in two layers of cling film. There will still be enough texture to grate with, but the plastic wrap allows you to lift off all the fibrous debris (instead of trying to scrub it out of the grater and instead grating your sponge or brush).

[codeamazon.livejournal.com]

Most of the horseradish root I've bought at the grocery has been mild and insipid. I've had better luck with consistency looking for a brand I like than a source I can rely on.

We like Inglehoffer cream style for generic use. D&D Meats in Mount Lake Terrace has a wide assortment of options including Inglehoffer and some kosher ones. (I had a heck of a time finding any for Passover last year. Now I know!)

[ladyerin.livejournal.com]

horseradish through a garlic press? not sure that would work, but was what popped in my mind to try.

~E

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

Horseradish root is *really* hard. I don't think a garlic press would do much to it.

[casualprofessor.livejournal.com]

when i make horseradish, i use a blender and a little white vinegar as needed

[casualprofessor.livejournal.com]

and omg is it kick-ass. I can clear a room like that :)

[bldrnrpdx.livejournal.com]

When I've bought horseradish root from grocery stores, it's blah and woody. Totally not worth it.

We grew our own root in 2008. We pulled it about the end of November, and grated up the thickest parts (about two pencil widths - I think the soil it was in was too heavy) with a fine grater. We mixed most of it with sour cream and tried some straight up. It was *fantastic*. It was also *pungent*. To give you an idea, my fiance, who really likes foods with lively flavors, made the mistake of sticking his nose into a bowl of freshly grated horseradish root. There's a five-picture sequence in this Flickr set that does a decent job of capturing his reaction: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bladerunnerpdx/sets/72157610883598196/

I bought two starts for this year, and I'm planning to get a third. I'm hoping to get better roots this time and maybe figure out how to preserve either the root or some prepared sauce.

[mg4h.livejournal.com]

I'll echo what others said, about grating or blending up the root. That's the only way to get the full potency from it. You can get a nice flavor from just shaving or chopping it, but it's got to be thoroughly broken down to get good flavor.

And yes, oftentimes the roots at the store are utter junk. I've started growing my own. I'll be able to harvest them this fall, if they're strong enough for me, I could send you one if you want. I decided I wanted to be able to harvest them without having to dig 2' down into the ground, so they're in pots. I expect short, fat roots. We'll see how that tastes ;)

[ionotter.livejournal.com]

BWAH-HAH-HAH-hAH-HAH-HAAH! OH YES! YES! I know that look!

It's the "OHMYGHODMYHEADISGOINGTOEXPLOOOOODE" face! With the bulging eyeballs, too! Whoo-hoo! Classic.

I grew up with fresh horseradish being made every Easter, so I'm reading this like, "Oh, wow...n00b n0s3 got PWN3D!" Dad used to make it in the blender. Outside the house.

[ionotter.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.

Your mayonnaise: olive oil, eggs, stuff you put in it.

Theirs: ????

Right. Sorted.

As for the horseradish, peel it then chop it into small chunks, then run those through the blender in small batches, so you don't burn up the motor.

Oh yeah. Do it outside unless you don't need your sinuses anymore.