Unusual Vegetable Plants |
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Horseradish Roast beef has long been classed as a typical representational dish of English food and of course the normal accompaniment for this is Horseradish sauce, but who grows the Horseradish? Horseradish does of course grow wild in the hedgerows and undoubtedly some health fanatics do harvest it, but it is not something that you will ever see on sale at your local garden centre and yet large quantities must be grown commercially to satisfy the supermarkets demand for Horseraddish sauce. If you acquire a root and do decide to try planting it at home then the golden rule must be the same as for planting Mint and that is to grow it in a large container to control it. If left to grow unchecked in a garden Horseradish will grow rampantly and spread like wildfire becoming a real menace that may not be so easy to remove at a later date. Books advise that if Horseradish is to be planted in the garden it can be controlled by lifting the roots at the end of each season to harvest the crop and the smaller offsets can then be stored, (but do not allow them to dry out,) until they are re-planted the following spring, but of course any small bits of root left in over winter are likely to grow and sprout as new plants. It is not the leaves that are used to make Horseradish sauce, but the roots, and after they have been harvested and thoroughly cleaned, they should be finely grated, perhaps with a fairly course cut on a blender. Then the resulting pulp should be mixed with vinegar and milk to make Horseradish sauce or with whipping cream, salt and vinegar, to make Horseradish cream. These two condiments of course go very well with beef, but also with ham and fish, or can be used in making steak tartare. |
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