387456 Mon Apr 02 07:51:53 -0700 2007 4 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 2442366 OK, let's just put aside the fact that the best is the beet horseradish you make at home. Pre-acknowledged and moving past that ... What is your favorite bottled beet horseradish? Here's my list in order of the best - Gold's - Boar's Head - Ba-tampte Looking for horseradish this year I was shocked to see that so many use soybean oil. WHAT is that about? The above three are uncorrupted ... horseradish, beets vinegar, salt ... not one preservative either. Gold's, in addition to being half the price of Boar's Head, had a slighlty better ratio of horseradish to beets. It was a lighter pink. However, both were good. I don't like Ba-tampte but I can't remember why. I wasn't willing to buy it this year to refresh my memory and then be stuck with a bottle or horseradish I didn't like. The best I've purchased is made at Saul's, a local deli. But it is nice to have backup available if I can't get over there. Also, this is pretty ignorant, but why beet horseradish at Passover? I'm not Jewish and use the beet horseradish for my Easter eggs, ham and kielbasa. My guess is that in Poland ... lots of beets and horseradish is plentiful and it helps that it cuts fatty meat. Also, it probably was just one of the many Jewish foods that was incorporated in the Polish diet. There's one company that makes cranberry horseradish and apricot horseradish. Doesn't sound right to me. Anyone tried them? They do have oil in them ... even the organic beet horseradish. http://www.silverspringfoods.com/natural.aspx Anyway, what is your favorite horseradish. Mon Apr 02 07:51:53 -0700 2007 10264 rworange 1 2442409 Or, it's a Slavic food that has been incorporated into the Jewish diet. The Carpatho-Rusyn ritual Easter meal that I grew up with (and will make this weekend) features a simpler, sweeter version of what we call chrin, with more beets than you find in the store-bought Jewish version. I generally get three or four cans of beets, drain them, and process them together with a small jar of prepared horseradish (not the cream variety). It shouldn't be smooth, but chopped. It's a wonderful condiment to go with the salty ham and sausage, the rich paska Easter bread and the solid, somewhat savory, cheese-like custard called hrudka. In our tradition, the sweetness of the beets and the bitterness of the horseradish combine to create a metaphor for the crucifixion and resurrection. I'm betting, however that it has a pre-Christian ritual significance, related to the bittersweet nature of life. I don't know the Jewish explanation for the significance of the dish, but I'm wondering if it's specifically a tradition linked to East and Central European Jewry. Mon Apr 02 08:01:23 -0700 2007 2442366 47019 gido 2 2442510 Interesting. Didn't realize there was a religious significance on the Christian side ... and that's my background. It explains why it is always served at Easter. Thanks. Like the idea of using regular horseradish and adding in canned beets. It sounds good, and while I'm more likely to buy the ready-prepared version, this sound good for me in a pinch when none is available ... besides ... it sounds good. Mon Apr 02 08:32:20 -0700 2007 2442409 10264 rworange 1 2443703 Soybean oil? Hmm... I'd rather stay away. Best horseradish so far is this organic one, by David & Jacqui Krizo http://www.organichorseradish.com/ They are harvesting right now. Both their fresh stuff and in jars ($3.25 for 4 oz, white variety only, but not too hard to mix up with beets & vinegar, which is what we do) are best quality possible. And since horseradish is the subject, I'm adding this one at cost: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseradish Origin of name "It has been speculated that the word is a partial translation of its German name Meerrettich. The element Meer (meaning 'ocean, sea', although it could be derived from the similar sounding Mähren, the German word for Moravia, an area where the vegetable is cultivated and used extensively, or indeed from Mähre, meaning 'mare') is pronounced like the English word mare, which might have been reinterpreted as horseradish. On the other hand, many English plant names have "horse" as an element denoting strong or coarse, so the etymology of the English word (which is attested in print from at least 1597) is uncertain. (The OED contains no reference to the derivation from the German Meer.) " BTW, jewish significance is "bitter herbs", a symbol of the years of slavery in Egypt. Mon Apr 02 13:29:20 -0700 2007 2442366 28703 RicRios 1 4364925 I had to google this one after seeing small jars of horseradish and beets and wondering about the significance. There a beets and horseradish side dishes which are predominantly beets. This is a traditional dish for Ukrainian Easter--the red beets signify the blood of Christ, and the horseradish the bitterness of his suffering before his death and resurrection. Now as condiment, I am guessing that the natural sugar in the beets may make a sweeter and less bitter horseradish and it certainly adds color. I know that horseradish - in some cases only the root vegetable are used on the traditional passover Seder plate for the bitter herb. I could not think of eating gefilte fish without horseradish. I sampled horseradish on hardboiled eggs last year with a family who said it was their Polish Family Easter tradition. We are now hooked on horseradish and hardboiled eggs. Thank you for the info. on the horseradish sans soybean oil, it is getting harder and harder to find items with out the additional additives - they do change the taste. We've been through our share of horseradish and horseradish sauces. It would be nice to see a list somewhere of horseradish condiments without additives like soy bean oil, etc. Wed Jan 28 06:47:21 -0800 2009 2442366 261173 Karebl