In the late 90s I picked up this stuff at a hot sauce store called nitro horseradish. All you needed was a small piece the size of a grain of sand and it was like putting 1/4 teaspoon of wasabi in your mouth. Although one of the more interesting hot things I have had, I am worried because if someone was to put a teaspoon of it their mouth, it would probably kill them.
Horseradish Chemical warfare
- Thread starter ipreferamediumroast
- Start date
Horseradish oil (the PURE stuff) is a contraband (at least in the US). It is very volatile stuff. I've extracted some of it over the years to see if I could do it (it takes a LOT of roots for a VERY small amount of the stuff), and the stuff is pure evil. The reason it doesn't evaporate within the root is due to the high density of the fiber structure within the root, which keeps it in place. In World War I, it was a toss up whether to use horseradish oil or mustard gas. Obviously, they went for the mustard gas, but this is also when they made horseradish oil a contraband.
DEFCON Creator said:
I was at a sushi bar in the late 90s in Burbank and I told the guy, make the spicy salmon roll as hot as you can. He said, are you sure, I said Yes. I took a bite and then after about 30 seconds of intense horseradish type pain, I said "what the hell did you put in that" He replied: Wasabi oil.
hhmmmm interesting....if it is listed as contraband does that mean it illegal??
There is a bar I goto that has Nitro Horseradish but not really that hot....Defcons Habby Horse is hotter.....
I just found Horseradish Extract for sale for $30 for 4 ounces (on sale regular price is 45 bucks for 4 oz) at Herb Pharm (currently out of stock)
There is a bar I goto that has Nitro Horseradish but not really that hot....Defcons Habby Horse is hotter.....
I just found Horseradish Extract for sale for $30 for 4 ounces (on sale regular price is 45 bucks for 4 oz) at Herb Pharm (currently out of stock)
Dyce51 said:
As far as I know, purchasing pure horseradish oil is illegal (al least in the US), which is the reason I went and made my own, just to see if I could do it. In hindsight, I kind of wish I didn't, it hurt like Hell, and I've had my fill of "heated" air. The extract you found is probably in some sort of oil suspension.
The extract I got directly from the horeradish roots was amazingly volatile, and you could basically watch it evaporate in front of your eyes, meanwhile filling the room with acid-like aerosol appeal. Great fun at parties.
Novacastrian said:
It was probably some horseradish extract.
ipreferamediumroast said:
The wasabi served at Japanese restaurants is just horseradish root (usually chemically enhanced for a better quick burn) and food coloring (not always natural either). If it were actually the wasabi rhizome, a 1-inch ball of it would cost about $40. The wasabi rhizome is a very tempermental critter as well, only being good for about 72 hours after taken out fo the ground. Much of it is freeze-dried and made into a paste, which is still rather expensive. Actual wasabi is not necessarily hot, but has a pungent taste and a great depth of flavor. Same goes with the 'wasabi oil'. I would have asked to see the container it came in, just so I could see the ingredients. I have a feeling I wouldn't be ordering it anymore if I knew what they were.
The good news is Washington state has started quite successfully in growing the wasabi rhizome, as some of the soil is very close in conposition to the specific make up of Japanese soil needed to make the little suckers grow. If you ever get a chance to taste the real stuff, do so. Don't expect that nasal flash burn though.
DEFCON Creator said:As far as I know, purchasing pure horseradish oil is illegal (al least in the US), which is the reason I went and made my own, just to see if I could do it. In hindsight, I kind of wish I didn't, it hurt like Hell, and I've had my fill of "heated" air. The extract you found is probably in some sort of oil suspension.
The extract I got directly from the horeradish roots was amazingly volatile, and you could basically watch it evaporate in front of your eyes, meanwhile filling the room with acid-like aerosol appeal. Great fun at parties.
How did you extract it?
ipreferamediumroast said:
Quite painfully.
DEFCON Creator said:
Good points. I wonder about some of those chemicals. We were working with one in the organic lab last yr called benzyl bromide and someone opened a bottle outside of a hood. It cleared the lab, everyone was tearing up and coughing. Also, when you buy products at the oriental markets, most of them are just chemicals disgusied as food.
DEFCON Creator said:As far as I know, purchasing pure horseradish oil is illegal (al least in the US), which is the reason I went and made my own, just to see if I could do it. In hindsight, I kind of wish I didn't, it hurt like Hell, and I've had my fill of "heated" air. The extract you found is probably in some sort of oil suspension.
The extract I got directly from the horeradish roots was amazingly volatile, and you could basically watch it evaporate in front of your eyes, meanwhile filling the room with acid-like aerosol appeal. Great fun at parties.
according to the description of the extract I found....it doesn't appear to be "pure" (like an oleoresin) It said "Certified organic grain alcohol, distilled water & Horseradish extractives. " No purety certification like I get with other extracts I get...(like crystal menthol and oleoresin cap) Only cert they offer is Organic.
Now I just checked into Powdered Horseradish. It is highly available and fairly cheap. The description says it has a sharp hot pungent spice to it. I wonder if by making fresh horseradish (which I will be makeing in the next week or so) and then adding horseradish powder (it says it reconstitutes with water) if one could make a "supercharged" horseradish.......
I'd say yes...but what would you do with it?