Sips & Sites & Bites

All throughout the holidays, and as our culinary tastes bend toward winter favorites, one trend that seems to stand out is the warm taste of horseradish.

You may not realize it, but it’s in some of your favorite dishes. Can’t have a prime rib dish without it? Dunk that Yorkshire pudding in a horseradish-rich sauce? I bet. All the bright, tangy mustards on your meat and cheese trays? Yep, horseradish is in there doing the work.

The world’s largest grower and processor of horseradish, Silver Spring, has some of the most high quality, and varied sauces, mustards and prepared horseradish flavors that are a must for a home cook’s wish list.

It was nearly a hundred years ago, in 1929, when Ellis Huntsinger began growing and processing horseradish and other crops on a few acres of land near a freshwater spring in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. That’s where Silver Spring Foods were born. And to this day, the business is still family-owned and operated, with flavor at the heart of the operation. 

Back in the day, Ellis prepared and bottled horseradish by hand in an old milk shed behind his house. He sold his fresh ground horseradish locally to bring in some income during the cold winter months.

Today, Huntsinger Farms grows horseradish in a five to seven year rotation with corn, soybeans and other forage crops on approximately 5,000 acres of Wisconsin farmland. 

They harvest the horseradish roots in the spring and fall, and they immediately go in cold storage until processed, bottled, and sold under the Silver Spring brand to markets worldwide.

Their prepared horseradish is made by grinding and mixing horseradish with vinegar as a natural preservative. The maker notes that without the vinegar, the fresh root, once it’s been washed and grated, would otherwise quickly darken and lose its characteristic bite. That’s why refrigeration is necessary, to keep the horseradish white in color and to retain its sharp flavor.

In case you didn’t know, horseradish can grow up to four feet tall, and it’s actually a part of the mustard family. Silver Spring uses a custom harvester, like a potato digger, to help produce up to eight million pounds of horseradish a year, or enough for a billion roast beef sandwiches, the “horseradish sommeliers” say.

Suggestions for this season’s possible food offerings with horseradish, you might ask? A great sauce for shrimp cocktail. A zesty Bloody Mary. Prime rib sliders with a creamy horseradish sauce. A tangy, easy to make pot roast. 

Bet your mouth is watering by now. Go ahead, check out some of their fun recipes and find out more about Silver Spring’s horseradish and other offerings online at www.silverspringfoods.com.