Horseradish has both culinary and medicinal purpose

Introduction

Armoracia rusticana (Brassicaceae) commonly known as horseradish has been known since ancient times as a folk medicinal herb and as a plant of culinary and nutritional value. It is a perennial herb that grows up to a height of 120 cm and is cultivated in different parts of the world for its thick, fleshy and white roots which have a delicious intense pungency and used as food and condiment and for its tender leaves which are used for salad. Worldwide it has been used since 1000s of years and well known for its medicinal values.

Active constituents

Phytochemical studies of different parts of the plant revealed the presence of various bioactive phytoconstituents such as glucosinolates of which sinigrin is dominant. Other chemical constituents are sinigrin-derived allyl isothiocyanate and diallyl-sulphide, vitamin C, volatile oils, polyphenols. terpenoids and polysaccharides. The pungent aroma of horseradish is attributed to allyl isothiocyanate. Quantitatively, horseradish contains approx. 0.6 g fibre, 2.5 g carbohydrates, less than 1 g of fat and protein and about 6.5 g of calories.

Culinary use

Beetroot Sauce: Horseradish sauce mixed with other ingredients like creamy sauce, mayonnaise and beetroot paste is a much popular recipe. It is hot pink and very elegant in texture and appearance. It can be added to pasta salads, give it light pungent flavor to our taste.

Horsey Sauce: If we do not want to add Beetroot or we do not like this coloring, then we may skip this and can be mixed with few condiments of our choice, to have this horsey sauce.

Sandwich Sauce: Horseradish paste can be mixed with some amount of yoghurt and mayonnaise with some culinary condiments as well small quantity of cheese spread. This will be delicious when applied in sandwich of our choice.

Dipping Sauce: With some extra cream and curd if added to sandwich sauce, it can be used as dipping sauce for onion rings, french fries, also with honey potato as well sweet potato recipes. This will give some pungent flavor like mint sauce.

Horseradish and salmon: This is one of the best combination and people generally like it the most. Salmon already has a nice texture but blending it with horseradish give each bite an awesome taste. Layering can be done as a spicy and roasted horseradish paste on the smoked salmon.

Roasted Beef: To prepare this, which is an another one of the most favourite of all, the onions are caramelized for this and beef must be roasted and grated and roasted horseradish must be mixed along with condiments of our choice that must enhance the flavor of your recipe.

Kids favourite mashed potatoes: as per the high nutritious values of horseradish kids also can enjoy its taste when mixed with mashed potatoes. To increase the acceptability of children, it can be mixed with their favourite sauces. They will also enjoy each of its bite, may be added to sandwiches or can be layered on cookies of their choice.

Cheesy horseradish: one of the another hot combination with cheese. we can use both kinds of cheese mozzarella as well milk cheese. This will give ultimate taste as well some viscous texture to our recipe. This further can be mixed with peanut butter also some whole roasted peanuts.

Medicinal benefits

Traditionally, the plant has been used for the treatment of cough, asthma, bronchitis, fever, to relieve pain from rheumatism, as remedy for scurvy, gout, disorders of liver, pancreas and spleen and as an antiseptic, vermifuge, diaphoretic, rubefacient and diuretic. The plant as a whole has wide therapeutic applications including antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant action.

Therefore, horseradish plant should be exploited further for its medicinally active constituents and therapeutic utility.This review clearly demonstrates the importance of this plant in ethnomedicine and its immense potential in modern medicine.