Horseradish (Raifort).—This is chiefly used as a
condiment or a garnish, but is seldom if ever cooked.
For garnish choose a young tender root, scrub it
well, and scrape it down finely into tiny shavings.
It is also added to various sauces as described else
where. It may be kept fresh for a considerable
time by burying it in sand in a cool place. Or, again,
it may be sliced, and these slices dried very slowly
in a slack oven, or before the fire, till fit to pound,
after which the result is sifted, bottled, and labelled,
as mentioned for dried herbs. Accidents have
happened before now from inexperienced cooks
mistaking monk's-hood or aconite root for horse
radish with deadly effect, therefore the former should
never be allowed to grow anywhere near the latter.
Cooks should also know that there is a marked diffe
rence usually in the roots, the aconite being cone
shaped, tapering rapidly to a point, whereas the
horseradish root is like a cylinder, long and of even
size for a considerable part of its length.