The Romanian solution to a stuffy nose

Part of what I love about the ethnic-foodie-blogosphere is learning how much my native Romanian cuisine has in common with other traditions. In this case, a post over at Yulinka Cooks on horseradish made me realise that the Romanian word for the substance, hrean, comes from the Slavic languages, and is related to the Russian хрен. When I was growing up, we tended to have both white horseradish at home and the kind that's coloured a bright pink with beets. Not only did we eat it on meat, but my dad had another use for it as well. When I had a dry stuffy nose, he would tell me to open a jar, and breathe the sharp fumes in, one nostril at a time. There's nothing quite like it for clearing up the sinuses!