Horseradish party can be a grinding experience

PANDORA - What happens at the horseradish party near Pandora, stays at the horseradish party.

One man joked this line as he watched jambalaya soup cook over an open fire on Thursday evening. A large group of both men and women were gathered at Kevin Snavely’s home to assist with the annual horseradish-making event.

“I guess we started this over ten years ago,” Snavely said.

Snavely and his friend Ron Busch, Ottawa, both enjoyed growing and making horseradish.

“We decided to make it together. It just kind of grew by word of mouth from there,” Snavely said. Now, an estimated 50-60 workers, mainly men, show up for the fall event. They often bring their own horseradish roots or vinegar to assist in making the pungent sauce often used on meats.

“I’ve given the root to quite a few guys so they could grow their own,” Busch said. “It’s easy to grow and keeps growing every year.”

Busch watched as the roots were washed in two old wringer washing machines.

“That gets the dirt off the roots,” Busch explained. Walking over to a table he said it takes handwork to peel the roots. ‘That’s one of the hard parts of the job of making the horseradish,” he said.

An old meat grinder was operated by two men as they fed the roots into the machine for grating. Nearby a large group ladled the ground horseradish loosely into jars. They added white vinegar into the jars.

“Three years ago we made 30 gallons of horseradish,” Snavely said. “We had about 65 guys here working to make it.” He said many of the workers are former Philips employees. “From there word just got around. We gradually saw more and more guys coming, bringing the horseradish roots or vinegar so they could take home their own horseradish to eat.”

Snavely said he likes horseradish on anything pork, hamburgers and even in soup.

Busch said he his favorite way to eat it is on any pork meat.

One worker said he likes to eat horseradish on hot dogs.

Dick Hoffman was busy cooking the soup for the workers over an open fire.

“I guess I’ve been doing this ever since the guys started making horseradish together,” Hoffman said. “I just make what Snavely asks for. Some years its vegetable soup, other years it’s been chili or cabbage soup.”

“All the guys bring in jars for the horseradish,” Snavely said. “When we are done everyone takes home what they think they need. It’s a good time.”