75 Exceptional Herbs for Your Garden by Jack Staub

Author:Jack Staub
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Gardening/Herbs
ISBN: 17581
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
Published: 2008-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Image 37: HORSERADISH

Perennial to USDA zones 5 through 9 and easily grown as an annual in other zones, horseradish is a striking plant, and none more so than the variety ‘Variegata,’ with its massive, dramatically and spontaneously cream-splotched leaves and, of course, nearly gargantuan grate-able taproot. Propagated by division when the root is dug up for consumption in the autumn (or in the spring in some areas), the main root is harvested and then one or two offshoots are replanted to produce next year’s crop. Older roots become woody and, while no longer viable for culinary purposes, are still dividable for new plants.

John Gerard observed in 1597 that “...the Horse Radish stamped with a little vinegar put thereto, is commonly used among the Germans for sauce to eate fish with and such like meates as we do mustarde...,” and it wasn’t until the mid-seventeenth century that the British embraced horseradish, although even then it was mainly grown at inn-and-coach station gardens and served in “horseradish ale” (a concoction of horseradish, wormwood, and tansy) as a tonic for weary travelers. However, by the end of the seventeenth century, horseradish had become the consummate condiment to accompany an oyster or a classic roast beef among all Englishmen. If you have never had your own fresh-grated horseradish, you are in for a treat, and ‘Variegata’ will give you the additional luster of its striking habit (I have even seen it strutting its glamorously tinted and ruffled foliage in purely decorative borders). Therefore, find a sunny pocket in your garden for this brawny, bihued beauty to excite both eye and palate.

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