Can You Make Horseradish With Red Radishes?

This might sound weird, but can you make radishes taste like horseradish?
I know it sounds impossible. And if you are looking for something straightforward, well… you can’t obviously! Just because both vegetables have “radish” in their English name, it does not make them interchangeable per se. While these vegetables share some similarities, there are definitely differences between them. Horseradish has an distinct flavor that you can’t really find in radishes or any other vegetable for that matter! That’s also why horseradish often comes in a sauce form instead of raw. It would be way too harsh to taste! Just like a bite of raw chili pepper could ruin your meal.

But if you’re looking for an interesting experiment to try out then go ahead and give this one a shot! You can actually make something that people sometimes call “Fake horseradish”, which is basically a pickled radish sauce prepared with dry spices to enhance the flavor on bring it closer to what one would expect from real horseradish. Some versions of it tastes just like real horseradish sauce would if we could get our hands on some fresh hot ones from the farmer’s market (which unfortunately aren’t available everywhere).

All you need is up to 500 grams of fresh red radish (the regular ones). Clean the radishes and remove the green top and the root end. You don’t really need to peel them, (the skin actually adds texture to the mix) but if you really want to avoid the brownish tint, you might want to peel each radish to keep the sauce as white as possible. Grate them or process with your food processor until fine. Quickly mix in 1.25 ml of citric acid to avoid discoloration, then add white wine vinegar (200 ml) and 45 ml wasabi powder. I also discovered, that adding just 50 ml of sherry cooking wine greatly improves the umami taste in this recipe.

It is important to have some sterile containers on hand in order store the mixture once it’s been prepared. But don’t expect it taste fine right away. It can take up 1-2 weeks for this product’s flavor and maturity level reach their peak flavors!