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Horse-Radish Vinegar
I teacup of grated horse-radish, 1 tablespoonful of granulated 1 quart of cider vinegar, sugar.
Put the horse-radish in two glass jars, bring the vinegar to the boiling point, add the sugar and pour over the horse-
The original text here is scrambled by the two-column printing of the page, but the recipe is recoverable: one teacup of grated horse-radish, one quart of cider vinegar, one tablespoon of granulated sugar, the vinegar brought to a boil with the sugar and poured over the horse-radish divided between two glass jars.
- The measurementsA teacup in American books of this period is roughly three-quarters of a cup to a cup, not a modern 8 oz measure used precisely. One packed cup of grated root to a quart of vinegar gives a sharp, usable condiment.
- Pour hot, seal at oncePour hot -- The vinegar goes over the horse-radish at boiling point. The recipe says nothing about covering the jars, but horse-radish pungency is volatile, so closing them once filled will help hold the bite that would otherwise escape with the steam.
- Grating the rootFresh horse-radish releases allyl isothiocyanate the moment it is cut. Grate it in a well-ventilated spot or pulse it in a food processor with the lid on, and keep your face away when you open it. Prepared horse-radish from a jar already sits in vinegar and will give a much weaker result.
- Jars and lidsUse glass, as instructed, with plastic or lined lids. Vinegar corrodes bare metal and will pick up a metallic taste from an unlined cap or a reactive pan; boil the vinegar in stainless steel or enamel, not aluminium or cast iron.
- The missing steeping timeThe recipe stops before telling you how long to wait. Two to three weeks in a cool dark cupboard is customary for flavoured vinegars; taste at two weeks and strain when it suits you, or leave the gratings in and pour off what you need.
- Keeping itAt full cider-vinegar strength this is self-preserving and will hold for months in the cupboard, though the aroma fades. Once opened, the refrigerator slows that loss considerably.
- Yield and useSomewhat over a quart, since the grated root adds to the quart of vinegar; the recipe says only 'two glass jars' and does not give a size. It is a seasoning rather than a salad dressing on its own: use it as the acid in a vinaigrette for beetroot or cold boiled potatoes, in cocktail sauce, or a spoonful over oysters and cold beef.
Flavoured vinegars were a common feature of American and British cookery books either side of 1900, before bottled dressings were something you bought. Tarragon, celery seed, shallot, chilli and horse-radish vinegars let a cook build a dressing with one pour, and they were a practical way to bank a strong seasonal flavour: horse-radish root (Armoracia rusticana) is lifted in autumn and, once grated, loses its heat quickly unless acid is added to hold it. Cider vinegar was a common cheap household vinegar in America, which makes the pairing a homely one.