question: Why does horseradish burn your sinuses? Like why your sinuses and nothing else, and why does the feeling shoot up your sinuses like that?
comment: It's got stuff in it that irritates the mucus membrane. A biological defense mechanism that stops animals eating the plant. Instead of just smelling bad, it smells painful. "The intact horseradish root has hardly any aroma. When cut or grated enzymes from the now-broken plant cells break down sinigrin (a glucosinolate) to produce allyl isothiocyanate (mustard oil), which irritates the mucous membranes of the sinuses and eyes." URL_0
passages: Section::::Cultivation.:Pests and diseases.
   Section::::Culinary uses.
   Both root and leaves were used as a medicine during the Middle Ages. The root was used as a condiment on meats in Germany, Scandinavia, and Britain. It was introduced to North America during European colonialization; both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson mention horseradish in garden accounts.
  
  William Turner mentions horseradish as "Red Cole" in his "Herbal" (1551–1568), but not as a condiment. In "The Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes" (1597), John Gerard describes it under the name of "raphanus rusticanus", stating that it occurs wild in several parts of England. After referring to its medicinal uses, he says:
   Cooks use the terms "horseradish" or "prepared horseradish" to refer to the grated root of the horseradish plant mixed with vinegar. Prepared horseradish is white to creamy-beige in color. It can be stored for months under refrigeration, but eventually will darken, indicating it is losing flavour and should be replaced. The leaves of the plant, while edible, are not commonly eaten, and are referred to as "horseradish greens", which have a flavor similar to that of the roots.
  
  Section::::Culinary uses.:Horseradish sauce.
   BULLET::::- In Serbia, "ren" is an essential condiment with cooked meat and freshly roasted suckling pig.
  
  BULLET::::- In Croatia, freshly grated horseradish (Croatian: Hren) is often eaten with boiled ham or beef.
  
  BULLET::::- In Slovenia, and in the adjacent Italian regions of Friuli Venezia Giulia and nearby Italian region of Veneto, horseradish (often grated and mixed with sour cream, vinegar, hard-boiled eggs, or apples) is also a traditional Easter dish.
   In Central and Eastern Europe horseradish is called "khren", "hren" and "ren" (in various spellings like "kren") in many Slavic languages, in Austria, in parts of Germany (where the other German name "Meerrettich" is not used), in North-East Italy, and in Yiddish ("כריין" transliterated as "khreyn").
   The word "horseradish" is attested in English from the 1590s. It combines the word "horse" (formerly used in a figurative sense to mean strong or coarse) and the word "radish".
  
  Section::::Cultivation.
   The Japanese condiment wasabi, although traditionally prepared from the true wasabi plant ("Wasabia japonica"), is now usually made with horseradish due to the scarcity of the wasabi plant. The Japanese botanical name for horseradish is , or "Western wasabi". Both plants are members of the family Brassicaceae.
  
  Section::::Nutritional content.
  
  In a 100 gram amount, prepared horseradish provides 48 calories and has high content of vitamin C with moderate content of sodium, folate and dietary fiber, while other essential nutrients are negligible in content. In a typical serving of one tablespoon (15 grams), horseradish supplies no significant nutrient content.
   BULLET::::- In parts of Southern Germany like Franconia, "Kren" is an essential component of the traditional wedding dinner. It is served with cooked beef and a dip made from lingonberry to balance the slight hotness of the Kren.
  
  BULLET::::- In Poland, a variety with red beetroot is called or simply ćwikła.
  
  BULLET::::- In Ashkenazi European Jewish cooking beetroot horseradish is commonly served with gefilte fish.
  
  BULLET::::- In Transylvania and other Romanian regions, Red beetroot with horseradish is also used as a salad served with lamb dishes at Easter called "sfecla cu hrean".
   In the US the term "horseradish sauce" refers to grated horseradish combined with mayonnaise or salad dressing. Prepared horseradish is a common ingredient in Bloody Mary cocktails and in cocktail sauce, and is used as a sauce or sandwich spread. Horseradish cream is a mixture of horseradish and sour cream and is served alongside au jus for a prime rib dinner.
  
  Section::::Culinary uses.:Vegetable.
   The intact horseradish root has hardly any aroma. When cut or grated enzymes from the now-broken plant cells break down sinigrin (a glucosinolate) to produce allyl isothiocyanate (mustard oil), which irritates the mucous membranes of the sinuses and eyes. Grated mash should be used immediately or preserved in vinegar for best flavor. Once exposed to air or heat it will begin to lose its pungency, darken in color, and become unpleasantly bitter tasting over time.
  
  Section::::History.
   Horseradish sauce made from grated horseradish root and vinegar is a popular condiment in the United Kingdom and in Poland. In the UK, it is usually served with roast beef, often as part of a traditional Sunday roast; but can be used in a number of other dishes also, including sandwiches or salads. A variation of horseradish sauce, which in some cases may substitute the vinegar with other products like lemon juice or citric acid, is known in Germany as "Tafelmeerrettich". Also popular in the UK is Tewkesbury mustard, a blend of mustard and grated horseradish originating in medieval times and mentioned by Shakespeare (Falstaff says: "his wit's as thick as Tewkesbury Mustard" in Henry IV Part II). A very similar mustard, called "Krensenf" or "Meerrettichsenf", is popular in Austria and parts of Eastern Germany. In France, "sauce au raifort" is popular in Alsatian cuisine. In Russia horseradish root is usually mixed with grated garlic and small amount of tomatoes for color.
   Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid
  
  Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid is a 2007 book written by Lemony Snicket. It is a "wit and wisdom" quotation book partly drawn from Snicket's famous "A Series of Unfortunate Events".
  
  Section::::Contents.
  
  Following the tradition of Snicket's work, "Horseradish" has thirteen chapters, each with a certain theme. The book is prefaced with an introduction that outlines these themes.
  
  Section::::Contents.:Introduction.
   There are two varieties of khreyn. "Red" khreyn is mixed with red beetroot and "white" khreyn contains no beetroot. It is popular in Ukraine (under the name of , "khrin"), in Belarus (under the name of , "chren"), in Poland (under the name of ), in the Czech Republic (), in Russia (, "khren"), in Hungary (), in Romania (), in Lithuania (), in Bulgaria (, "khryan"), and in Slovakia (under the name of ). Having this on the table is a part of Christian Easter and Jewish Passover tradition in Eastern and Central Europe.
   Section::::Invasive species.:Impacts.:Toxicity in horses.
  
  Grazing of the plant by horses can cause nigropallidal encephalomalacia or "chewing disease", a neurological condition. The disease generally follows consumption of 60-200% of the horse's body weight over an extended period of a month or more, or 2.3-2.6 kg of starthistle per 100 kg body weight per day. Though starthistle is most dangerous when it is the only plant available or is delivered as a contaminant in dried hay, horses may develop a taste for it and seek it out. Many other species of grazers, including mules and burros, are not affected.
  
  Section::::Invasive species.:Holistic Perspective.
   Horseradish is perennial in hardiness zones 2–9 and can be grown as an annual in other zones, although not as successfully as in zones with both a long growing season and winter temperatures cold enough to ensure plant dormancy. After the first frost in autumn kills the leaves, the root is dug and divided. The main root is harvested and one or more large offshoots of the main root are replanted to produce next year's crop. Horseradish left undisturbed in the garden spreads via underground shoots and can become invasive. Older roots left in the ground become woody, after which they are no longer culinarily useful, although older plants can be dug and re-divided to start new plants. The early season leaves can be distinctively different, asymmetric spiky, before the mature typical flat broad leaves start to be developed.
   The bulk of the introduction follows the story of a man and a woman who live in a small grass hut in a village surrounded by a horseradish field. They generally live a routine life, and, as they have no taste for the horseradish, spend most of their time hunting to prepare raisin-stuffed snails to provide for their meals. One night, the woman asks her husband if there is more to life than doing the same thing for years. Her husband replies that the woman's mother once told him about a wise man who would probably know. The woman visits her mother, who says that she heard about the wise man from the woman's third grade teacher, Miss Matmos. Miss Matmos tells the woman that the wise man lives on the top of a mountain far away and that the journey to the top of the mountain is difficult and dull.
   "E. arvense" contains thiaminase, which metabolizes the B vitamin, thiamine, potentially causing thiamine deficiency and associated liver damage, if taken chronically. Horsetail might produce a diuretic effect. Further, its safety for oral consumption has not been sufficiently evaluated and it may be toxic, especially to children and pregnant women.
  
  Section::::See also.
  
  BULLET::::- List of plants poisonous to equines
  
  Section::::Further reading.
  
  BULLET::::- Walkowiak, Radoslaw (2008): "IEA" –p "Equisetum" Taxonomy
   The distinctive pungent taste of horseradish is from the compound allyl isothiocyanate. Upon crushing the flesh of horseradish, the enzyme myrosinase is released and acts on the glucosinolates sinigrin and gluconasturtiin, which are precursors to the allyl isothiocyanate. The allyl isothiocyanate serves the plant as a natural defense against herbivores. Since allyl isothiocyanate is harmful to the plant itself, it is stored in the harmless form of the glucosinolate, separate from the enzyme myrosinase. When an animal chews the plant, the allyl isothiocyanate is released, repelling the animal. Allyl isothiocyanate is an unstable compound, degrading over the course of days at . Because of this instability, horseradish sauces lack the pungency of the freshly crushed roots.
   The diuretic effects are put to use most commonly in horses to prevent bleeding during a race. Sometime in the early 1970s, furosemide's ability to prevent, or at least greatly reduce, the incidence of bleeding (exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage) by horses during races was discovered accidentally. In the United States of America, pursuant to the racing rules of most states, horses that bleed from the nostrils three times are permanently barred from racing. Clinical trials followed, and by decade's end, racing commissions in some states in the USA began legalizing its use on race horses. On September 1, 1995, New York became the last state in the United States to approve such use, after years of refusing to consider doing so. Some states allow its use for all racehorses; some allow it only for confirmed "bleeders". Its use for this purpose is still prohibited in many other countries.
   If eaten over a long enough period of time, some species of horsetail can be poisonous to grazing animals, including horses. The toxicity appears to be due to thiaminase, which can cause thiamin (vitamin B1) deficiency.
  
  Section::::Folk medicine and safety concerns.
   Horseweed is commonly considered a weed, and in Ohio, it has been declared a noxious weed. It can be found in fields, meadows, and gardens throughout its native range. Horseweed infestations have reduced soybean yields by as much as 83%. It is an especially problematic weed in no-till agriculture, as it is often resistant to glyphosate and other herbicides. Farmers are advised to include 2,4-D or dicamba in a burndown application prior to planting to control horseweed.
  
  Section::::Uses.
   Many horse liniment formulas in diluted form have been used on humans, though products for horses which contain DMSO are not suitable for human use, as DMSO carries the topical product into the bloodstream. Horse liniment ingredients such as menthol, chloroxylenol, or iodine are also used in different formulas in products used by humans.
   Horseradish is probably indigenous to temperate Eastern Europe, where its Slavic name "khren" seemed to Augustin Pyramus de Candolle more primitive than any Western synonym. Horseradish has been cultivated since antiquity. According to Greek mythology, the Delphic Oracle told Apollo that the horseradish was worth its weight in gold. Dioscorides listed horseradish equally as "Persicon sinapi" ("Diosc." 2.186) or "Sinapi persicum" ("Diosc." 2.168), which Pliny's Natural History reported as "Persicon napy"; Cato discusses the plant in his treatises on agriculture, and a mural in Pompeii shows the plant. Horseradish is probably the plant mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his "Natural History" under the name of "Amoracia", and recommended by him for its medicinal qualities, and possibly the wild radish, or "raphanos agrios" of the Greeks. The early Renaissance herbalists Pietro Andrea Mattioli and John Gerard showed it under "Raphanus". Its modern Linnaean genus "Armoracia" was first applied to it by Heinrich Bernhard Ruppius, in his "Flora Jenensis", 1745, but Linnaeus himself called it "Coclearia armoracia".
   "NSAIDs", or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, may help improve the lameness in the horse. However, it is important to note that high doses of NSAIDs given over several days can cause kidney damage, as well as ulcers. NSAIDs may also be illegal in competition, so it may be necessary to stop treatment with NSAIDs several days before the horse competes.
  
raw_presuppositions: Horseradish burns your sinuses.
raw_corrections: Horseradish does not burn your sinuses but the mucus membrane.