[Sca-cooks] horseradish

[Harris Mark.S-rsve60]

Morgan answered my questions with:
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Margaret said:
> The traditions in question are eating charoset and bitter herbs (usually
> horseradish) mixed together on matzoh, and then together between two
> pieces of matzoh as a sandwich.

Stefan commented and asked:
>> Interesting. The only other mention that I've seen of horseradish
>> is eating the root, usually made into a paste or sauce.
>>
>> Does anyone know of any other use of, period or modern,
>> horseradish leaves?

<puzzled>  We do use the root, not leaves.  Some people have it whole and
eat slices; most people make a paste.  You can get the jarred stuff (the red
is my favourite, as it looks prettier on gefilte fish, and it's slightly
sweeter because of the beets) but people take pride in making their own,
which is much stronger because of the freshness.  Our senior rabbi makes
some that will clear out not only your sinuses, but those of the two people
sitting on either side of you.
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Thank you for this. Yes Adamantius, when I saw "herbs" I was indeed
thinking leaves, not the root. We've discussed the fuzzyness of
the definitions of "herb" and "spice" before.

I've not thought of horseradish root as being 'bitter' before.
This may be because most of the horseradish I've had was packed
in vinegar or had vinegar in the sauce, so any bitterness was
probably assumed to be a function of the vinegar and not the
horseradish itself. I do have some fresh horseradish root at
home. If I slice it up and fry it like "French Fries" this
should give a good experience of the natural taste without
any additions such as would be in the sauce.

My question still remains about whether horseradish grows in the
Middle East or whether the Jews started using this plant when
they migrated to Europe.

Stefan li Rous