Today we’re sharing about harvesting and canning horseradish. If you aren’t already growing horseradish, you will want to start after reading all the amazing benefits of this delicious root.
What is horseradish?
Horseradish is a perennial plant in the brassica family. It is a root vegetable used as a spice and prepared as a condiment. Horseradish is known for its pungent taste and odor. It has been used worldwide for thousands of years as a condiment but also for medicinal purposes. The horseradish root contains multiple compounds that may provide health benefits such as antibacterial and anticancer effects.
Harvesting Horseradish
It’s that time of year where we harvest horseradish. The best time to harvest horseradish is after your first hard frost. At this time, the green leaves on the plant will begin to turn yellow, wilt or die. This is your sign that the horseradish is ready to be harvested. Horseradish tends to develop strong and deep roots. In our garden, we have had horseradish develop roots that are 3-4 feet long. Therefore, digging up this root to harvest can be a bit challenging. You carefully dig up the area around the root to help loosen the root and pull it from the ground. The root is the only part you use on the plant. You can discard the leaves or add them to your compost pile.
How to preserve horseradish for future use?
Figuring out what to do with horseradish can be challenging for some. However, it is really quite easy to grow, harvest and preserve horseradish for use throughout the upcoming year. One way you can preserve it is to puree it and freeze it into small cubes that you add to dishes. The best way we have found to preserve it is by canning it. We really enjoy having it this way because we can still add it to all of our dishes but can also use it as a condiment. One of our favorite things is to mix up some horseradish with sour cream and use this as a condiment for steak, venison, elk, buffalo or any other red meat. You can also mix horseradish with mayonnaise and use it as a condiment for sandwiches.
Pickled Horseradish
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp kosher or pickling salt
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 7 cups lightly packed, shredded horseradish root
Instructions
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Prepare 4 half pint or 8 1/4 pint jars.
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In a saucepan, combine sugar, salt and vinegar.
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Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often until sugar and salt are dissolved.
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Add horseradish and return to a boil, stirring occasionally to immerse horseradish in liquid. Remove from heat.
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Pack hot horseradish and liquid into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace by adding the hot liquid. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace as necessary. Wipe rim and add hot lid and rings. Tighten finger tight.
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Place jars in water bath canner and return water to a boil. Process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and set on dishtowel overnight. Check lids the next day and refrigerate any jars that have not sealed or reprocess the jars again.
Recipe Notes
Horseradish root should be firm. You will need 3lbs of whole root to get 7 cups of shredded horseradish.
We’d love to hear what you think about the recipe. Please let us know if you grow horseradish and how you use or preserve it for future use. We love the opportunity to share our knowledge and the knowledge of others in this space. Let us know in the comments below all your horseradish ideas. Thank you for stopping by and visiting Sunup to Sundown! We’ll be back soon with another recipe or update regarding our garden or our journey to becoming more self-reliant. Please subscribe, like or share this post with others who could benefit from it.
When do you plant horseradish?? My hubby loves the creamy version on everything and I bet fresh, homemade horseradish sauce is way better than the store bought!
Hi Tiana,
You typically plant horseradish in the spring and harvest it after the first hard frost. It grows amazing here in the valley. We’d love to give you guys a horseradish plant start to try if you’re interested. Just let us know.
Thank you,
Ashley Bilyeu
Iwould love to try a plant. As my household loves horseradish. Please send a plant to Armenta plachy at 170vz cr 4128 Canton,Tx. 75103 and thank you very much.
Hi Armenta,
The previous response was to a friend who lived locally. My family and I have since relocated from Oregon to Texas and are in the process of establishing our yard and hopefully garden by spring. When we do have horseradish root again, we would be happy to share but if you don’t want to wait you can order from many seed and plant catalogs or companies.
Thank you,
Ashley Bilyeu
Does this canning method retain the heat of horseradish? Seems we’ve tried this in the past and heat is gone.
Hi Patti,
We have been harvesting and canning horseradish this way for the last couple years and we love it. We really feel that the horseradish keeps its flavor and heat the best in this preservation method. Give it a try when you can and let us know what you think.
Thank you,
Ashley Bilyeu
Thanks for the great post and info!! We love horseradish and planted it last fall for first time after making fire cider and we are going to try and harvest this year!!
Hi Nadine,
Thank you so much too. We hope you have a great harvest and enjoy canning some horseradish too. It is great to have on your pantry shelf and have for dishes.
Thanks again,
Ashley Bilyeu
Do you sell the root?
Hi Millard,
No, I don’t sell horseradish root at this time. I just purchased some from a local store and am getting ready to plant it in the ground. The last horseradish root we planted we purchased online. From our research it is best to plant horseradish root in early spring or late fall.
Thank you,
Ashley Bilyeu
What is fire cider? Sounds like something i woukd like.
Hi Ellen,
Fire Cider is amazing! It is a tonic made with apple cider vinegar, peppers, horseradish, spices and herbs. The benefits of fire cider include immune system support, eases sore throat and sinus congestion, supports digestive health, rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, may aid in weight loss, cardiovascular benefits, and offers an energy boost. I follow a recipe loosely based on Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe but you can truly make your own based on your preferences. I’m hoping to share my recipe soon on here too. I’ve had about 25 pints in the works for about 4 weeks that I’m getting ready to bottle in a week or so as they’re all presold. But seriously, fire cider is amazing!
Thank you,
Ashley Bilyeu
How do you shred/grind your horseradish?
Hi Courtney,
We used our food processor to grind up the horseradish. It worked out well!
Thank you,
Ashley Bilyeu
I purchased a horseradish root that has a large knuckle on one end. Is that good to use for grating or is it garbage?
Hi Cheryl,
I don’t think it’s bad. I just purchased some too that looked the same way, and it seemed just fine when I cut it up.
Thank you,
Ashley Bilyeu