Trail Horseradish Cream
Dried horseradish and powdered milk mixed into a cold sauce that wakes up bland camp food.
- calories
- 90
- weight
- 0.7 oz
- cal / oz
- 129
- protein
- 4 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- 45 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- No cook
- Car camping
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Dried horseradish powder or granules | 2 tbsp | grate fresh root and dry it at home, or buy it dried |
|---|---|---|
| Whole milk powder | 1/4 cup | stands in for the sour cream |
| Powdered buttermilk or sour cream powder | 2 tbsp | this is where the tang comes from |
| Kosher salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Sugar | 1 tsp | |
| Vinegar | 2 tsp | white or cider, in a small leakproof bottle |
| Cold water | 3 tbsp |
Method
- Put the dry mix in a small bag or cup and add the vinegar and about 3 tbsp of cold water.
- Stir or knead until there are no dry lumps. It will look thin at first.
- Let it sit 15 minutes. The milk powder swells and the horseradish rehydrates and gets sharper.
- Add water a teaspoon at a time if you want it pourable. Taste and add salt.
- Spoon it over whatever you cooked. It keeps a day in cool weather, less in heat.
Horseradish cream is a dairy sauce, which normally rules it out for a pack. Milk powder and buttermilk powder solve that: rehydrated they give you the body and the sour edge that sour cream was providing, and neither needs a cooler. The acid matters as much as the heat, so do not skip the vinegar.
Dried horseradish is milder than freshly grated root, and it needs time in liquid before it does anything. Mix it, then wait. If you dig your own root, do it in cold weather and dry it soon after; a summer root will taste like nothing and the drying only takes it further down.
Packing
Combine the horseradish, both powders, salt, and sugar into one small bag at home. Vinegar rides in a 15 ml dropper bottle. That is two items for a sauce that would otherwise need a fridge.
Variations
- Stir a spoonful into instant mashed potatoes instead of using it as a sauce.
- Add a pinch of mustard powder if your dried horseradish has gone flat.
- Swap the vinegar for a lemon juice crystal packet if you already carry those.
https://foragerchef.com/homegrown-horseradish-cream