PASSOVER HORSERADISH – MUSTARD’S KISSING COUSIN

To all who celebrate the festival of Passover – Happy Passover! We have bad news and good news for you. If you are an Ashkenazic Jew (of Eastern European descent), you are not supposed to eat mustard. If you a Sephardic Jew (of Spanish or North African descent), mustard is okay. If you’re not sure what you are, we vote for joining the Sephardic camp, at least for this Passover. But one condiment that works for all Jews is mustard’s cousin, horseradish.

Mustard and horseradish belong to the same botanical family – cruciferae – and produce similar reactions in the body, that classic nose hit that comes from allyl isothiocyanate, the magical naturally occurring substance found in both the horseradish root and some varieties of mustard seed.

Passover just isn’t Passover without a whiff of nose-busting horseradish. For many, it is the requisite “bitter herb” central to the Seder, the traditional holiday service/dinner that recounts the story of the exodus from Egypt. One taste of the volatile root is supposed to jolt collective memories and remind Jews everywhere of the bitterness of their ancestors’ suffering. Why horseradish? As Tevya would say, “Tradition!”

Most of us know of horseradish as the potent grated white or red (from the addition of beets) stuff that appears in jars in the grocer’s refrigerator case. While many observant Jews insist that prepared horseradish has no place on a Seder plate – only the unprocessed root is permitted – commercially-made horseradish is still the condiment of choice for that timeless Passover treat, gefilte fish.

Passover cuisine presents a host of challenges and difficulties for the unwary cook. Many foods are obviously off limits; any kind of leavened bread is forbidden as a reminder of how the children of Israel had to hurriedly flee Egypt without enough time for their bread to rise. Other foods are not so obvious, as their component ingredients may or may not have been exposed to leavening agents. Horseradish is one of those foods. Specially made “Kosher for Passover” horseradish is not your everyday horseradish.

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Only a handful of commercial processors go to the expense and effort to make horseradish that is certified as kosher for Passover. Silver Spring Foods of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is one of those companies. The Passover horseradish run at Silver Spring takes place over the course of three days in early February, all under the watchful eyes of three different rabbis.

It begins on Sunday, when the horseradish line undergoes a complete hot water cleaning at temperatures approaching 210 degrees. Rabbi Moishe Kasowitz makes sure that every utensil and piece of equipment is “kashered” and ready for processing. Contrary to what many believe, kosher certification involves no prayers or blessing over the food or facilities. It is all about inspecting and watching, guaranteeing that the prepared horseradish has been made in strict accordance with Jewish law.

With the system clean and good-to-go, Rabbis Avrohom Perlstein and Reuven Drori go into action, inspecting the key ingredients that will go into the finished product. Most important is the vinegar, which must itself be certified kosher for Passover vinegar. The two rabbis stay at the plant while the horseradish is ground, combined with other ingredients, and bottled. “We are here twenty-four-seven during the production,” they state with calming assurance..

At the Silver Spring state-of-the art facility, the process is precise but not complicated. Most of the roots have come from the Silver Spring farm a few miles away. At a rate of three hundred pounds per minute, they go into a giant auger and are ground with other roots from California and Illinois to create a blend that is flavorful, consistent and potent. Silver Spring is one of the nation’s leading producers of prepared horseradish, processing about seven million pounds annually. The Passover run is modest – about sixty tons this year, representing about one-third of the nation’s Passover horseradish production.

Bottling the horseradish is a high-speed blur. At speeds approaching 8,400 jars an hour, the powerful horseradish blend flies into bottles – mostly of the 5 ounce size – and is then labeled. The Silver Spring brand is only one of many brands that come off the line. The company also produces the same blend of Passover horseradish for a number of well-known kosher brands.

The jars go into cases, the cases go onto pallets, and the finished product goes onto trucks heading for your neighborhood grocery.

In observing Passover, Jews are not supposed to eat leavened bread, ruling out all sandwiches. All but one. The traditional “Hillel Sandwich” (named after the famous teacher who lived 2,100 years ago) consists of a generous helping of “charoset,” a blend of chopped apples, nuts, and wine, with a dollop of horseradish, all sandwiched between two pieces of matzah. It’s the Passover answer to the “Big Mac,” what some call the “Big Moishe.”

How do you know if the horseradish you see is not only “kosher” but “kosher for Passover?” Check the label for the certification that guarantees that the product is indeed certified for use during Passover.

It comes as no surprise to the Mustard Museum Curator that Silver Spring Passover Horseradish is so good. They happen to make some great mustards, too, including the Mustard Museum’s own Hit & Run brand.