Fresh Ground Horseradish

• What to look for in the store:
  • Select roots that don’t have a lot of weirdness at the large end, since you’ll lose less when peeling.
  • Select roots that feel heavy and are hard, not spongy when squeezed. If it’s not hard and heavier than it looks, it’s not fresh.
• Peel the roots with a vegetable peeler, and take off anything that isn’t clean and white including any knots or eyes. If you find any long brown lines that won’t peel off, cut the root in half lengthwise and remove them.
• The roots sometimes have a nasty brown rot inside. If it’s rotten bring it back to the store.
• Peel the horseradish root, then cut into 2 inch pieces (not critical).
• Put the blade in the food processor, add the horseradish and turn it on.
• Pulse the food processor until the horseradish is finely ground, scraping down the sizes of the bowl as necessary. Do this under an externally vented range hood or outdoors! The vapors are extremely potent!
  
• Keep processing until it’s finely ground.
• It will get hotter as it’s ground finer and sits longer, for up to 10 minutes or so.
• When it’s as fine and hot as you want, add vinegar, until it looks like the stuff in the jar.
  The vinegar goes in last, because the chemical reaction that makes horseradish hot, is stabilized by the vinegar. Adding vinegar while grinding makes the horseradish milder than it could have been.
• Spoon it into a glass or plastic jar with a tight fitting lid, cap it, put it in the refrigerator, and you’re done.
• It will be excellent for about a week, but will then gradually lose potency. Even after several weeks, it will still be stronger than what you buy in the store. This is well worth making, and your friends will love it!

Makes about 2 Cups