RADISHES: 
THE WHOLE TRIBE‘S
WORTH KNOWING 

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White radishes

       

        Radishes are pretty much taken for granted, especially when they appear as small white disks rimmed with red in garden salads.  Don’t stop with the red and white variety, however. The radish family is larger, available throughout the year, and fortunate are those who get to know all the different types.  

        Radishes grow into many shapes, flesh tones and skin colors. Outwardly, they’re red, black or white. They can be plump like red ping-pong balls, dainty like fragile icicles, or black and robust as a gnarled potato. Sometimes radishes are huge, white and measure up to two feet in length. They all taste pretty much alike, but their heat level fluctuates. Some sprout radishes, others carve them like Hallowe’en pumpkins and the Koreans serve them in a kimchi relish daily.

       The radish family is one of the oldest in town, for it ranks right up there with peas and turnips as the world's oldest cultivated crops. Their immediate  family line includes cabbages and mustard. This latter connection is probably responsible for the heat you taste, and this can be reduced by peeling them. They’re traced back to the  Egyptians about 3500 BC. The Chinese served them 2700 years ago; the Japanese ate them 1000 years back. Scriptures show black radishes were part of the rigid, ancient Talmudic dietary laws. The Greeks honored radishes so highly, they reproduced them in pure gold and presented them to Apollo, in his temple at Delphi.

       Even Christopher Columbus, with all he had on his mind, thought to bring radish seeds along to the New World, and they flourished along with spring melon, cucumber, pomegranates and Old World squash. 

       Early Romans felt the radish was a good food to cure baldness. During the Middle Ages the English believed they cured pains in the joints, shingles and  madness.

To this day, in the tiny Mexican town of Oazaca,  radishes are carved each Christmas just as many people reshape pumpkins at Hallowe’en. The town’s people fashion them into saints’ figures for their festival called, “LaNoche de Rabanos.”   

 

RADISH TYPES: 

  • SPRINGTIME, SMALL, ROUND RED:  This group comes in many shapes, skin tones and flesh colors ranging from white to watermelon red to a Granny Smith green.

  • WHITE ICICLE:  This one is similar in taste and texture to the round red radish, however, it’s zestier. California mammoth whites are about 8 inches long and tapered.  They resemble a parsnip.

  • BLACK RADISHES:  Gnarled and bumpy with tough black skin, these need to be peeled before eating. The flesh is white, extremely pungent and is much drier than the rest of the family. Raw black radishes should be salted to tame their peppery bite. In her book, Blue Corn and Square Tomatoes, Rebecca Rupp states the early Romans seasoned black radishes with honey, vinegar and salt. Their radishes grew to 100 pounds.

  • DAIKON:  The white, long, daikon radish can grow to huge proportions, and usually your market will sell pieces of large ones. Their flesh is juicy and a little hotter than red radishes but not as strong tasting as black ones. They are usually peeled and grated for salad and garnishes.

Select only radishes which are firm to the touch, not  spongy. Avoid those that are spotted, have large cracks or are exceptionally large in size. If the tops are attached, these should be fresh looking.

 

         Radishes possess almost as much potassium as bananas and half the ascorbic acid of orange juice. Rich in sulfur, iron and iodine, they are low in sodium and calories. Seven radishes have only 15 calories and contribute about 30 percent of your recommended Daily Value for Vitamin C.   Make radishes part of your five-vegetables-a-day program to reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases.

         Some serving suggestions:

·       All radishes find their way into stir-frys, shish kebabs, pickles, garnishes, salads, tea sandwiches or into beef or lamb stew.

·       Grate into coleslaws.

·        Add to stir fries and sautés.

·        Radish sprouts add a sassy punch to sandwiches and salads.

·        Mix chopped radishes into yogurt, sour cream or cottage cheese.

·        Make salads of spinach, radish and orange pieces.

·        Marinate radishes in rice wine vinegar.