Friday, August 29, 2014

Horseradish Mustard: A Very Tasty Late Summer Harvest Ferment

Meet My Horseradish Plant

The root
The benefits of horseradish ... the pungent, spicy open your sinuses whiff of the grated fresh root is truly an experience for the senses, dangerous even if too close to your sensitive nostril membranes- hold a leaf to your forehead to reduce headache pain.. use the root in Fire Cider* to ward off a cold but perhaps the most interesting health benefit of horseradish is emerging from recent studies of its anticancer effects due to the significant amounts of cancer-fighting compounds called glucosinolates, which increase the liver’s ability to detoxify carcinogens and may suppress the growth of tumors.  Horseradish increases blood flow to the skin so also a great way to use the ground up root as a poultice to ease aching muscles.  Many more benefits abound and provide a strong argument for keeping this in the garden and in your larder. 

THE RECIPEHorseradish Mustard!
If you love horseradish and mustard, this combo can't be beat for giving you the kick you need to spice up potato salad, use on veggies or in guacamole, add it to your mayo for an awesome sandwich spread.  Try it on tunafish, delicious with any seafood or sausage.  I love it with steamed collards with eggs sunny side up.

This recipe is from a story I read in Taproot Magazine and the beauty of it is understanding the properties of mustard seed as it both preserves and thickens the mustard and how the fermentation process requires little more than you remembering to taste it after 3 days and put it in the fridge, if you don't eat it all up with your family beforehand!

ENJOY!

You will need:
2-3 TBS fresh horseradish root, peeled and grated
1 cup cool unchlorinated water
1/4 cup white mustard seed
1/4 cup brown mustard seed
2 cloves garlic, grated

1 tsp fresh turmeric, grated or 1/4 tsp powder
2 tsp salt
1 TBS raw apple cider vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar or honey

How to put it all together :

Place horseradish root in blender with water, mustard seeds, garlic, turmeric and salt.  Blend until smooth.
Mustard seeds will break down and act as a thickening agent and become creamy. Keep blending to a paste.

Ladle mustard into a pint jar, press out pockets of air. Place lid on the jar and tighten.  Set on counter to ferment for 3 days.

After 3 days, open the lid and stir in vinegar and sugar or honey. It may take a little while for sugar crystals to melt into the mustard.. then it is ready to serve or store in refrigerator.

VOILA!



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