MHG Volunteer Blog 21: Horseradish

Want to explore Pontefract Castle's Medieval Herb Garden in more detail? Here's the latest volunteer blog! You can also browse all past MHG blogs here.

Another Bank Holiday. So, of course, the weather was blustery and overcast. Following the recent windy, but well-needed, downpour, the Medieval Herb Garden was looking a little battered in places. With the rain, no doubt the weeds will be back with a vengeance!

Carole carried out the weekly flowering-plant count and re-stocked the sales barrow. She was also kept busy talking to visitors, helping with the dungeon tour and dodging rain drops!

A thriving part of the MHG

Plant of the Week - Horseradish (armoracia rusticana)

The name 'horseradish' first arose in the 1590s. The word 'horse' could be used to mean strong or coarse. 'Radish' comes from the Latin 'radix', meaning root. It has other names such as monk’s rhubarb, patience and red cole.

Horseradish comes from eastern Europe. It is a vigorous, perennial herbaceous plant of the family brassicaceae. This family also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage and radish.

Horseradish has hairless, bright green, unlobed leaves up to 3ft long. The leaves may easily be mistaken for dock leaves.

It doesn’t always flower. However, when it does in May to June, it produces small, white, four-petalled flowers. If grown for eating, the large white root should be dug up, leaving some behind to produce a plant the following year.

Horseradish in flower in the Medieval Herb Garden

Culinary uses of horseradish

Horseradish was first used in cooking in the 1600s (it was used for other purposes much earlier). Tthe leaves of the plant are edible, either cooked or raw when young. They have a flavour similar to, but weaker than, the roots.

Prepared horseradish is a common ingredient in Bloody Mary cocktails and in cocktail sauce. It is also used as a sauce or sandwich spread. Horseradish sauce is a common accompaniment to roast beef - and has been since the late 1600s!

Prepared horseradish is white to creamy beige. It can be stored for up to 3 months in the fridge. Eventually it will lose its pungency, darken in colour, and develop a bitter flavour.

Outside of Japan, the Japanese condiment wasabi is now usually made with horseradish. Traditionally it is made from the true wasabi plant (wasabia japonica), but horseradish is much more readily available. The Japanese botanical name for horseradish is seiyōwasabi or "western wasabi".

Folklore and other facts about horseradish

Legend has it that the Delphic oracle told Apollo: “The radish is worth its weight in lead, the beet its weight in silver, the horseradish its weight in gold.”

30,000 metric tonnes of horseradish are produced in Europe annually. Hungary is the biggest producer, producing 12,000 tonnes.

"Cabbage worms", the larvae of pieris rapae, are a common caterpillar pest of horseradish. Another common pest is the mustard leaf beetle (phaedon cochleariae).

In the Fens, horseradish was used to predict the sex of an unborn child. Both parents placed a piece of horseradish under their pillows at night. Whichever parent's piece turned black first would indicate the sex of the child.

Medieval uses*

The ancient Greeks and Egyptians used horseradish as a rub for lower back pain and as an aphrodisiac. Horseradish was used for loosening phlegm in the body, whether in the sinuses, joints, or blood. It was good for conditions such as lymphedema, arthritis, sciatica, colic, strangury, scurvy, colds and flus, and expelling worms in children.

Some used horseradish syrup as an expectorant cough medicine. Others were convinced it cured everything from rheumatism to tuberculosis.

*As always, this isn't to be considered medical advice today. Please don't use any plants mentioned in these blogs as medicine without advice from a doctor.