Horseradish

Horseradish, also known by the names horseradish vodka, horseradish tincture or horseradish, is a fairly common strong alcoholic beverage in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. In essence, horseradish is a bitter tincture of vodka on the root of fresh horseradish.

Khrenovukha has been known and revered in Russia since the time of Peter the Great, who at the beginning of the 18th century even issued a decree stating that each courtyard must have five quarters of horseradish vodka. This was especially true for those people who were in the cold or were busy with hard work.

It is interesting that the word horseradish itself is not recorded in dictionaries - it refers to the vernacular. But be that as it may, and the tincture on the root of horseradish under this name is present on the menus of many restaurants.

In general, according to the methods of manufacture, horseradish can be classified into two types. The first provides for infusing horseradish root on an alcoholic basis (vodka, moonshine or edible alcohol) for 2-3 days. After that, the precipitate is removed, the necessary ingredients are added to the infusion and, if necessary, horseradish is brought to the desired degree of strength. The most common options for such a drink, in addition to horseradish, are characterized by the content of carrots, ginger, celery, fragrant and hot peppers, mustard, cloves, garlic, honey or sugar color.

As for the second method of preparing horseradish, it is necessary for it to insist horseradish on alcohol-containing raw materials for up to seven days, after which the resulting tincture is subjected to fractional distillation - an aromatic and acute part is released, and a suspension of horseradish particles is removed. Subsequently, the aromatic distillate is infused with cloves, red hot peppers and other components, filtered and infused with honey. Such horseradish should settle in a cool room for more than a day, while, if necessary, the sediment is again removed.

High-quality and properly prepared horseradish never causes a strong burning feeling in the mouth, while the rather long aftertaste from its consumption remains pleasant. If after a glass of horseradish you have a desire to interrupt its taste by eating something, then something is not taken into account in the recipe, in particular, the proportions of honey and horseradish are violated. Many experts in the manufacture of horseradish believe that it is in the correctly guessed amount of these 2 components that the secret of its preparation lies.

Benefits of horseradish

Some sources claim the benefit of horseradish as a natural aphrodisiac, which cannot be disagreed with. Actually, horseradish itself has such a property, and smart ancestors have known about its unique qualities since time immemorial. It is noted that horseradish not only contributes to arousing appetite, but also gives us the vital energy we need.

In addition, you will never suffer from a hangover from properly cooked horseradish. However, in order for the benefits of horseradish not to turn into harm to health, it is undoubtedly necessary to comply with the norm of drinking.