379190 Fri Mar 09 09:06:48 -0800 2007 22 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 2369411 I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. We don't have wide availability of kosher and Jewish style products, but this year is particularly strange. None of the grocery stores have any horseradish on their Passover displays, even the ones that generally have a good selection. One local chain, Mollie Stone's, caters to a Jewish clientele, and a friend of mine got the last two jars on their shelf a week ago. Red horseradish is pretty basic seder stuff, always available this time of the year. I posted to the SF board, and people offered educated guesses, but nobody said whether they'd found the stuff or where. So I'm wondering if there's a horseradish shortage elsewhere, like in New York or Chicago or somewhere that has a significant Jewish population. My friends think I'm nuts, but we still don't have nearly enough horseradish for thirty people. Does anyone know what's going on? Fri Mar 09 09:06:49 -0800 2007 16828 Judith 1 2369626 There's PLENTY of horseradish, both red and white, on the supermarket shelves here in PA and DE. Fri Mar 09 09:56:43 -0800 2007 2369411 49600 CindyJ 1 2369761 do you have friends who could send you horseradish? or maybe are you friends with a shop owner? there's plenty of horseradish in philly... Fri Mar 09 10:25:55 -0800 2007 2369411 14941 mazza3 1 2369793 No ... I did not offer and educated guess on the SF board. I listed places I KNOW carry red horseradish ... it is a product I buy frequently especially this time of year ... I guess I didn't write that clearly enough, so sorry if it didn't relieve your anxiety. I recently bought some from Saul's. A call to any of those places ... and in some cases I provided phone numbers, IIRC ... would have confirmed that. If I didn't ... ask on the SF Board and I'll look up the numbers. Truly Saul's would easily accomodate the horseradish for 30 people. In the more general scheme of things there could be reasons why you are currently not finding horseradish - it is not close enough to Passover My holiday is Easter, so I just wait till I see the passover ads in the grocery stores to buy my stash for Easter. Sometimes if you shop too early, stores are sold out of what has been on the shelves for a while - it is too close to Passover The stores under-ordered based on last year's requirements and they ran out For some stores, like Mollie Stones, it is seasonal. Others, like Saul's and the Eastern European markets, you can buy it year round. Fri Mar 09 10:31:35 -0800 2007 2369411 10264 rworange 2 2369968 Hi, Thanks. Saul's is a bit of a hike, and since we need to stock up in advance, fresh isn't the best solution. But I'll follow up on your other suggestions. I don't think it's a question of timing . . . Passover is "early" this year, relative to the Julian calendar, and sometimes stores don't get that, but the stores have their displays. Fri Mar 09 11:16:41 -0800 2007 2369793 16828 Judith 3 2370011 Sometimes the horseradish people don't ship or make their product until near the holidays ... Bastampe (SP?) is notorious for that ... and for suddenly dropping products ... long ago when Andronico's was one of the only games in town for red horseradish ... or that I knew of at the time ... I waited and waited asking WHEN it was coming in ... then ... for some reason Bastampe short-changed them ... no horseradish for me. On some of those South Bay places, especially Win-Mart, be sure to ask if they have it if you don't see it. Like Saul's it might not be on display. People just know to ask for it. It was the year that Andronico's failed me that I went to Saul's, didn't see any, and asked if they ever carried it. They brought out a huge house-made tub from the back ... and a beautiful horseradish-y relationship was born. I don't like most of the unrefridgerated red horseradish, but I'll buy it because ... you never know. So that's why I went through a lot of red horseradish at all the other South Bay Eastern Euro markets. Polish Deli in Palo Alto carried some brand from Poland that was the best. I mean what are Easter eggs and keilbasa without the red horseradish? Fri Mar 09 11:26:46 -0800 2007 2369968 10264 rworange 3 2370023 Judith, I have a couple of suggestions: 1. Post on the Kosher board: you are likely to find people looking for Passover stuff there. 2. Call the store(s) where you have bought your jarred horseradish in the past, and ask them when they expect to receive their shipments. For some reason, I think the horseradish comes in with the dairy deliveries (the K for P milk, etc.), and those arrive a week or so before Pesach. 3. Check out the greengrocers, and see if they carry fresh horseradish. It is fun to pull the "real root" on the seder plate (tho' they are usually huge). Cut off a section the day of the seder and use a vegetable peeler to cut off slices. Do not do this earlier, as the heat quickly disappears. Most of the horseradish in the US is grown in Illinois, across the river from St. Louis. We have had some rough weather the past year, but horseradish is a pretty tough plant. I used to grow some in my garden, and I will often go dig a piece of root at my neighbor's home. Good luck, p.j. Fri Mar 09 11:28:35 -0800 2007 2369968 13038 p.j. 4 2370540 Thanks. We have the actual root for the plates. It's the red stuff in a jar. Everyone insists on it. It's kind of like the wine. Even though it's awful, it just isn't a seder without it. And of course, people who would eat a BLT without blinking want everything kosher for Passover :-) Fri Mar 09 13:26:50 -0800 2007 2370023 16828 Judith 1 2370358 They just had Golds on sale for half price here in NY, so I don't think there's a shortage. Fri Mar 09 12:45:40 -0800 2007 2369411 11097 coll 2 2370488 I just bought some Gold's white, and it's the hottest I can remember. Nice! Fri Mar 09 13:16:40 -0800 2007 2370358 18755 howboy 1 2371705 No shortage here in Chicago. You might want to look by were they keep the packaged smoked fish. That's where I find mine. Usually it's in the same place where they keep pickled herring. Good luck! Fri Mar 09 19:51:02 -0800 2007 2369411 10642 bryan 1 2376150 Here in Arizona, I've been buying horseradish at Walmart of all places! It's in an 8oz. glass jar with a white label with red printing that says "Fresh Ground Horseradish course-cut Good-n-hot" - and it is! It's not red as there are no beets added, but you could always grate a raw beet into it. I've also seen it in Albertson's, Fry's and Safeway. If there's a Super Walmart close by, give it a try. Sun Mar 11 23:25:31 -0700 2007 2369411 11867 charlieboy 2 4518051 No problem in Miami, but it's always available here. I never did "get" the red, but we used to always have it. I guess it is necessary to stain the table cloth when Aunt Ruth spills the wine. Wed Mar 18 18:55:16 -0700 2009 2376150 68319 Sinicle 1 2377532 We got the white kind at Winco, and finally got the red kind at Mollie Stone's. They said it comes in late because it's perishable. It's really not that perishable in the jars. Safeway still doesn't have it, which still makes me wonder, but at least our immediate problem is solved, and we can move onto all the other details, like we're missing one seder plate, and don't forget the orange :-) Mon Mar 12 11:43:29 -0700 2007 2369411 16828 Judith 2 2377722 What do you use the orange for? Mon Mar 12 12:23:04 -0700 2007 2377532 16775 PapaT 3 2377761 It's a feminist addition to the seder plate, much like the the cup of Miriam. This tradition stems from a man's response to women's emerging equality in Jewish life, according to the Haggadah. The man's response was, "A woman belongs on the bimah as much as an orange belongs on the seder plate." Mon Mar 12 12:31:21 -0700 2007 2377722 16602 lisaf 4 2378269 Can't say that I have ever heard/seen it done. Is this a recent addition? On a separate note, we dip pineapple instead of potato in the salt water for Karpas. Mon Mar 12 14:17:50 -0700 2007 2377761 16775 PapaT 5 2378328 New relatively speaking. I think it came into popularility in the 1990's. We are old school on the karpas and use parsley. Mon Mar 12 14:28:54 -0700 2007 2378269 16602 lisaf 1 2377603 Checked my grocer in CT/NY border yesterday and we have Golds in white and red and several local vendors. Mon Mar 12 11:55:51 -0700 2007 2369411 11290 jfood 1 2377700 May I make a bold suggestion that you make your own horseradish. The red just has some beets thrown in to mellow out the flavor. It's quite easy especially if you have a Cuisinart with a grater disc. *To make white horseradish, finely grate peeled fresh horseradish into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until needed. *To make red horseradish, boil 1/2 pound red beets until tender. Peel and then finely grate into a medium bowl. Add about 1/2 cup grated horseradish, or to taste, and combine thoroughly. Refrigerate, covered, until needed. Mon Mar 12 12:17:11 -0700 2007 2369411 16602 lisaf 2 2381988 Thanks. Some among us might yet do this. Most of us have hectic day jobs, and getting it all together gets to be a challenge. Needless to say, of the 28-40 people we bring together every year, the "core" group carries the weight of the turkey, the brisket, the kugel, the carrot tsimmes, the seder plates and of course the matzoh balls, no pun intended. And then there's the ritual. We redo the Haggadah every year, but I bet that discussion wanders off outside the boundaries of chow. Tue Mar 13 13:54:30 -0700 2007 2377700 16828 Judith 2 2385880 With a food processor it's so simple it's almost a sin not to make your own. I just peel the root and cut it into chunks, then puree it in the processor with a little vinegar until I get the consistency I want. One caution - hold your breath when you open the processor bowl to scrape down the sides, you will be hit with a blinding blast of fumes. If you get a good root the result is so much more powerful than any store-bought, but it only keeps that level of intensity for a short time so make it the day you plan to use it. Wed Mar 14 14:33:56 -0700 2007 2377700 14386 BobB 1 4518042 I am up here in the High Desert, Victorville CA, and can't find any red, can lay my hands on plenty of white, but no red. I'm in charge of the horseradish for our community Passover, so I will need 10 bottles. Anyone in the high desert know where to look or how to convert white to red without making it too running w/ beet juice? Wed Mar 18 18:50:35 -0700 2009 2369411 275600 PLAINJANE1