ottawa foodies

I just recently finished a bottle of Strubs extra hot horseradish. After doing a taste test last year I finally found a brand that packs enough heat for my tastebuds. I went back to Loblaws on Rideau where I bought the original bottle but they don't seem to carry that brand anymore. The only brand I noticed was Ashco which I tried and it is nowhere near hot enough for me. I also tried Loeb and Hartmans to no avail. So I am seeking the advice of Ottawa foodies to ask if anyone has a favourite brand/source for extra hot horseradish. I might be willing to try making it myself. Now the nice weather is here I am biking around the city so I am willing to travel as far as Westboro/Ottawa South/Vanier and a possible field trip to Merivale. Any suggestions?

If you make it yourself - let us know the recipe. I tried this once - vinegar, salt, horseradish - didn't turn out. I'm on the farmboy brand at the moment, and its ok, but not super hot.

fresh grated horseradish
the vinegar tames it
freshly grated horseradish will make your eyes and nose run for a very long time and fordisakeagawd, wear gloves

Incidently, horseraddish is fairly easy to grow in your own garden a is ok for our climate- a friend of mine brought a huge tub into the restaurant where I work that he got out of his aunt's garden. He cleaned it and grated it - according to him is was "killer" both in flavour and heat.

chef Obi and FiH do you grate the horseradish and eat it just like that?... I heard fresh horseradish is really really hot and although I love super hot foods I'm just afraid of losing all taste sensations afterwards...

sourdough it never occured to me Farm Boy makes horseradish. I love their salad dressings so I will have to check it out on my next visit there. I might try some as a last resort.

Be careful about growing your own horseradish. I thought it would be a great idea and inquired at Acorn Creek to see if I could get some info. Apparently like potatoes - take and existing root and plant. However the stuff is extremely invasive. The owners convinced me to buy some from them (maybe a careful marketing ploy?) - with something along the lines of - are you sure you want this stuff growing forever in your garden ...

sourdough Thanks for the heads up. I live in an apartment so planting some in a garden is out of the question for me. And I guess growing it in a planter would definitely be a challenge. I have seen it fresh at Loblaws so I thought I'd just buy some there but it never occured to me to check out Acorn Creek. I recently polished off a jar of hot peppers I bought from them at Lansdowne just before the market closed late last fall and they packed a nice punch. I'll bet their horseradish would be awfully tasty. Only 6.5 weeks until the market opens-;)

Anything invasive - just bury a bucket and plant it in there.

Sourdough - Reminds me of a neighbour who planted Mint in their garden without it being in a container... Yikes!

Food&Think When my dad still had his house and vegetable garden he was the master of letting things grow. He also had mint that grew everywhere but it tasted oh so good. When I moved to Ottawa I would pick some on a visit home then use it in salads and also in gin and tonic - what a great summer drink! My dad also used to grow several rows of zucchinis but he would never pick them until they were about the size of a baseball bat. I tried picking them when they reached the desired size to show Dad how they were supposed to look but to no avail. Oh well at least we didn't have a problem with all those tomatoes he grew - they were sooooo good!

Pasta Lover - These huge gardens must be a thing from the 1960s (as my Dad had one of those as well). At the time, like you, all I recalled was the oodles of veggies that grew every Summmer... (Rhubarb, Tomatoes, Peas, Carrots, Beans, Onions, Radishes, Cucumbers, Beets and Raspberries). In some ways it was ridiculous how much we grew. What I guess I "forgot" was how much was "put away" for the winter... either veggies in the freezer, or jam and pickles in the pantry. I look back at it now, and I realize it was probably a good way for our family to save some money on groceries.

BTW... Funny pic. The gal reminds me of "Mallory" (Justine Bateman) from Family Ties... and this just looks like something she'd do. LOL

Food&Think My dad did indeed start that garden in the 1960s but according to my mother it started out modest in size. Every year in the spring my dad would take out the shovel to "straighten out the edges" as if they got crooked in the first place under all that snow-;) One year my mother took out her ball of kitchen twine and spread it from one end of the garden to the other showing dad where she felt the edge should be. Of course the garden ended up a foot narrower as a result but we still had lots of veggies. My mom also put up alot of the veggies to eat during the winter. I remember eating brussel sprouts for Christmas one year that my mom picked from the garden and blanched just a couple months earlier. She never got into the canning aspect although this is something I would like to pursue. I am lucky to live downtown with a number of community gardens nearby if I decide to go that route but maintaining a vegetable garden is alot of work. I also have access to two nice farmers markets within walking distance and two others that are a short bus ride away so I feel I have it made.

Thanks for the compliments on the pic. I found it by doing a google search and picked it because of the pose. But she definitely looks like Mallory now that you mention it-;)

the heat from fresh horseradish is alot different than from chilis
it is definitely sinus clearing
lol

Saddly, buckets don't always work. I planted some red peppermint in a bucket last year, and by fall, it had put down runners through some of my garden. I pulled out what I could, but I think I'll be fighting that battle for a while.

As for vendors selling the stuff, German Town Deli has some that says "extra hot/extrascharf" and I tried some on a cracker today (the guy was nice enough when I explained the forum post), and yeah...it had kick. Maybe worth taking that route?

lady who brunches what a great idea getting some horseradish at the German Town Deli! Actually I just read your lunch review and, realizing I haven't been there in ages, I just might take a walk there one day for lunch and to pick up some horseradish. I work closer to the market but a walk to German Town Deli is doable now that the nice weather is here. P.S. Thanks for doing a taste test - you are one nice lady who brunches!