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By Harold McGee
Published 2004
Horseradish is a west Asian cabbage relative, Armoracia rusticana, remarkable for large fleshy white roots rich in sinigrin and its volatile pungent compound. Horseradish pungency develops when the raw root is grated, or when the ground dried root is rehydrated. Horseradish doesn’t seem to have been cultivated in Europe until the Middle Ages; today it’s used as a relish or dressing for meats and seafood, often in the company of cream to take the edge off its strong flavor.