Herb of the Week - Horseradish

Herb of the Week:  Horseradish: Armoracia rusticana

I took this picture this morning in the green house and then the battery went dead on the camera so it was the only photo I was able to get.  Bryan Shillington

About: Member of the mustard family. Horseradish is high in fiber, sulfur, potassium, vitamin-C and is really good for the general health of the human body.

Derivation:
The word "Horse" for its large size and coarseness. "Radish" comes from Latin radix meaning root. An old timer and Master Herbalist in the Blue Ridge mountains told me that it was a very workable solution for hoarseness and that was how it got its name.

History and old time usage:
Horseradish has been used for more than 3,000 years as an aphrodisiac, a treatment for common cold, as an expectorant cough medicine, for Tuberculosis and is a flavorful accompaniment for beef, chicken and seafood?  Horseradish has been prized for its medicinal and gastronomic qualities for centuries. The Egyptians knew about Horseradish as far back as 1500 B.C. Early Greeks used it as a rub for low back pain and an aphrodisiac. Jewish people still use it during Passover as one of the bitter herbs. Some old timers used Horseradish syrup as an expectorant cough medicine; others were convinced it cured everything from Rheumatism to Tuberculosis. Legend has it 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." During the Renaissance, Horseradish consumption spread from Central Europe northward to Scandinavia and westward to England.   It wasn’t until 1640, however, that the British ate Horseradish, and then it was consumed only by country folk and laborers.   By the late 1600s, Horseradish was the standard accompaniment for beef and oysters amongst all Englishmen. The English, in fact, grew the pungent root at inns and coach stations, to make cordials in order to revive exhausted travelers.  Early settlers brought Horseradish to North America and began cultivating it in the colonies.  It was common in the northeast by 1806, and it grew wild near Boston by 1840.  Commercial cultivation in America began in the mid 1850s, when immigrants started Horseradish farms in the Midwest.  By the late 1890s, a thriving Horseradish industry had developed in an area of fertile soil on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.  There is also a booming Horseradish Industry in Doc's hometown of Brantford, Ontario Canada. 

Uses:
Horseradish is and has been used for Headaches, Hoarseness, Sore Throats, Colds, Fevers, Sinus Difficulties, Clearing the Head, stimulates the appetite, aids in secretion of digestive juices, aids Blood Circulation to the Brain and is a solvent of excess mucus in the system.  Its vast usefulness in handling all these conditions is the main reason it is in Doc's Total Tonic formula. In doing this research (literally following in my Father's foot steps) I'm beginning to realize why Dad put these herbs together the way he did.  The Total Tonic formula: Garlic, Ginger, Turmeric, Horseradish, Onions, Cilantro and Cayenne. Garlic being anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti parasitical etc, is the killer of most anything that would attack the body.  Ginger makes the Garlic go down nice and smooth and also brings circulation to the extremities of the body and back again. I wrote in depth about Turmeric last week and have written in the past about the amazing properties of Onions. This week's featured herb is Horseradish but what is incredible to me is how all the herbs in Dad's Total Tonic Formula fight any kind of Cold, Flu,  or Plague. It really is appropriately named Total Tonic.  This recipe can be found in the Herbal Remedies' Archives and is one of the easiest tinctures to make.

Growing tips:  This herb grows in the 50% shade to full sun. Alkaline soils rich in humus are ideal for horseradish. It has large edible leaves that are best when picked young. I have always planted Horseradish from pieces of the root after the danger of frost has passed.

Cooking:  Don't!!! From my experience, horse radish is tasteless if cooked or dehydrated. Also the good properties are destroyed when cooked but using fresh, fresh tinctured or fresh pickled Horseradish is excellent.

US Production:  Today, approximately 6 million gallons of prepared horseradish are produced annually in the U.S. and most of it is still planted and harvested by hand.

Flowers:   Horseradish has lovely white flowers that attract bees and other pollinators. The plant does not need insects for pollination though, the flowers are hermaphrodites (meaning they have male and female parts) so it can produce seed without help.

Lore:  Nothing really interesting but there was some mention of an ancient ritual regarding slavery and the using of horseradish leaves to signify the bitterness of slavery to educate Slave Masters.

Magic:  When a person eats horseradish it is an intense feeling. It clears the sinuses instantly and blows all the cobwebs out of your brain with the force of a hurricane.

Total Tonic:  I really think it's time you got your hands on some to make a batch right now!!!

If you need help with making it or you just want a bottle on hand, you can call Organic Solutions #575-772-5888. 

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In Knowledge and Health
~B
Journeyman Herbalist
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