Horseradish
Armoracia rusticana
A perennial pungent root. Heat is allyl isothiocyanate that forms when you grate cells and then fades as it sits. The leaf is coarse. Once planted, it stays.
GROW → HARVEST → EAT → DRY → POWDER → CAPSULE → GUMMY — forms are not equivalent. Food first.
Identity
What it is
A perennial pungent root. Heat is allyl isothiocyanate that forms when you grate cells and then fades as it sits. The leaf is coarse. Once planted, it stays.
Edible portions
- root
Absence of a portion from this list means it is not treated as food here — not that every other part is toxic.
Growing
- Climate. 3–9
- Light. Full sun
- Soil. Deep, loose
- Planting. Root cuttings. Contain it.
- Harvest. Dig side roots in fall; leave a piece if you want it next year.
Preparation and culinary uses
- Grate fresh, acidify with vinegar to lock heat
- Cocktail sauce
Nutrition and compounds
- Plant compounds. allyl isothiocyanate. Presence is not a dose, a cure, or a reason to buy a capsule.
AAA interpretation Food first. These associations explain why a plant shows up in a nutrient conversation — they are not a supplement shopping list.
Next steps
Sources
- USDA PLANTS Database — taxonomy and range (verify current entries)
- USDA FoodData Central — nutrient profiles for foods (verify current entries; this page does not invent milligrams)
- State cooperative extension growing guides — verify for your region
Honest incompleteness is preferred to fabricated completeness. If a section is missing, no record for it is attached here — not a claim that the plant lacks that characteristic, and not that it was omitted as a secret.
Internal quality class A. Strong page: distinctive plant facts plus practical growing or kitchen use.