Horseradish: A big root with a bold kick

You don’t buy a lot of horseradish? That may just be your loss.

Collinsville, Ill., calls itself the Horseradish Capital of the World, and with good reason. Although the acreage devoted to horseradish fluctuates greatly from year to year, and nobody apparently keeps records about such things, it is estimated that between 65 and 85 percent of the world’s horseradish crop is grown in this area.

Why here? Why Collinsville?

According to Lindsey Keller-Janssen, vice president of Keller Farms, it is a combination of sandy soil, the ready availability of water from wells, favorable weather conditions and happenstance.

“It’s where my family moved,” Keller-Janssen said.

Keller Farms was founded in 1887, when Keller-Janssen’s great-great-grandfather, Ferdinand Keller, came to this country from Austria. Family legend has it that he brought with him a horseradish plant and a pregnant wife, who gave birth to Keller-Janssen’s great-grandfather on the boat.

The land he settled was fertile, too. Today, Keller Farms owns a little more than 5,000 acres, some of it in Collinsville but much of it scattered throughout Illinois and into southeastern Missouri. On this land, they grow not only horseradish but also sweet corn, field corn, soybeans and winter wheat, which they sometimes use as ground cover.

The way the horseradish industry works, the farmers already have contracts to sell their product even before they plant it; that way, they don’t end up planting too much or too little of a specialized crop with limited sales.

Keller Farms grows its other crops as a way of using their fields that are not given over to horseradish, as well as a way to gain income during the summer months when the horseradish is not being harvested.

Besides, horseradish can be planted in a given field only every three or four years, Keller-Janssen said. The plants drain too many nutrients out of the ground, and if one of the roots develops a disease, it can take a couple of years before horseradish can be grown in the field again.

In horseradish, as in so much of life, timing is everything. Keeping one eye on the weather, the farmer has to know when to begin planting (generally in the early spring) and when to begin harvesting (preferably after the first frost). Depending on the weather conditions and temperature, harvesting can extend even into the following May.

But “it’s not a first-in, first-out system,” Keller-Janssen said. The internal temperature of the vegetable’s root makes all the difference in the world. Horseradish roots that did not warm up will last much longer than roots that were still growing when the weather became warmer. So the farmers must keep track of which roots were picked when and send them to be processed accordingly.

“You’ve got to keep it cold to keep it hot,” Keller-Janssen said.

Growing the crop is labor-intensive, she said, in part because it is not widely grown. Not many chemicals are designed to be sprayed on horseradish because the cost to develop such treatments is high and the farmers who grow it are relatively few.

“We sometimes have to have guys out hoeing fields,” she said – and even that is only helpful during a narrow window of time.

Perhaps the most labor-intensive part of the season is when they do what they call suckering leaves. Every plant has several leaves growing from the top, each one attached to a different knob on the root. But all these leaves take up a lot of growing energy, so the workers remove all but one leaf from each plant by hand. The root that results is perhaps five times larger than it would be if it were left alone, Keller-Janssen said.

“But there is a very fine line (of time) when it can be done. When it gets too big, it’s too late,” she said.

Keller Farms and other local horseradish farmers sell their goods all over the United States and to some foreign countries (one company in South Africa uses a horseradish enzyme in medical tests). You can buy the roots themselves, but it is most commonly sold in jars, where it has been ground together with vinegar and salt.

And its uses? Horseradish goes famously well with roast beef and is also excellent with grilled steaks and other grilled meat. It is an essential ingredient in cocktail sauce and, of course, horseradish mashed potatoes. Keller-Janssen recommends adding it to creamy cole slaw, bratwursts and deviled eggs. But it could turn up almost anywhere.

“There are three companies that distill horseradish vodka, and two of them buy it from us,” she said.

 All-Purpose Spread

Yield: 4 servings

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Mix together the ingredients. Serve with grilled or roasted beef or spread on bread for sandwiches made of beef, chicken, turkey or pork.

Per serving: 55 calories; 6 g fat; 1 g saturated fat; 4 mg cholesterol; no protein; 1 g carbohydrate; 1 g sugar; no fiber; 143 mg sodium; 2 mg calcium.

Recipe by Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken

Horseradish Vodka

Yield: 26 servings

1 1/2 ounces horseradish

1 (750 ml) bottle of good vodka

Peel the horseradish, cut into matchsticks and thoroughly wash. Discard any pieces that have brown spots on them. Pour a few ounces of the vodka into a glass to make room for the horseradish. Drop the horseradish pieces into the bottle, and refill the bottle with as much of the reserved vodka as will fit. Close and store in a cool, dark place for 5 days to 1 week.

Strain the vodka through a coffee filter and discard the horseradish. Return the horseradish vodka to the bottle or a suitable container with a lid. Store in a freezer and serve cold.

Recipe by Daniel Neman

 Horseradish Deviled Eggs

Yield: 6 servings

6 hard-cooked eggs

Pinch table salt

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

Peel eggs and slice in half. Remove yolks and place in a small bowl. Add salt to the yolks and thoroughly mash with a fork. Add mayonnaise, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon horseradish, and stir to blend completely. Taste and add more horseradish if desired. Spoon or pipe mixture back into the yolk cavity of the eggs.

Per serving: 155 calories; 14 g fat; 3 g saturated fat; 190 mg cholesterol; 6 g protein; 1 g carbohydrate; no sugar; no fiber; 163 mg sodium; 29 mg calcium.

Recipe by Daniel Neman

Petite Steaks With Homemade Prepared Horseradish Crust

Yield: 4 servings

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup finely crushed potato chips

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons prepared fresh horseradish (recipe below)

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 1/2 pounds petite fillet or flat-iron steaks or boneless short ribs, cut crosswise into 1-inch thick pieces

Heat the oven to broil.

In a large, oven-safe skillet over medium, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring, until they have turned slightly golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, then add the potato chips and stir well. Set aside. Wipe out the skillet.

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, horseradish and mustard, then season with salt and pepper.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the skillet over high heat. Season the steaks on both sides with salt and pepper, then sear for 1 minute per side.

Working quickly, spread the horseradish mixture generously on one side of each steak, then top the mixture with the breadcrumb mixture, pressing it down gently. Transfer the skillet to the oven’s middle shelf and broil until the crumbs are lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide the steaks among serving plates, along with any juices from the skillet. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Per serving: 560 calories; 41 g fat; 120 mg cholesterol; 460 mg sodium; 13 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 34 g protein.