What do YOU do with radishes??

[fabulousmindy]

I have them and I am at a loss. What do you use them for?

[Jess]

Clean the dirt off (sometimes) and pop them in my mouth! Just delicious!
A little salt is nice or sliced up in a sandwich.

[hendi_alex]

Thanks for the radish post. Time for me to do another succession planting! Love them. Gotta admid, eat way too much salt with both radishes and cucumbers, but what a treat. The radish tops add a zest to salads, in fact radish seeds are generally blended in a typical mesclun salad mix. And the roots for me are great eaten whole or sliced in a salad.

[Vallia]

Well I usually just peel them and either put them in a salad or eat them plain then I use the scraps in my compost

[cynthia_h]

Way back when (college in Atlanta), my boyfriend and I decided to "learn to garden."

We read that radishes were easy and fast to grow, so we planted some just to see whether the dirt behind the house we were renting would support veggie life.

We got beautiful radishes.

We carefully harvested them and washed them, leaves and all.

Bit into them and--Yikes!--neither of us could stand them!

So I no longer have the problem of what to do with my radishes, since I don't grow them. Just that once.

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17

[hendi_alex]

"Peel them," now that would have never occurred to me. Maybe because they are generally small. Don't know. Certainly peel all other root crops. Well not usually turnip roots, but don't eat those. Hmmmmmmm?

[petalfuzz]

I give them to my parents!

Yuk, never cared for the things...

[smokensqueal]

I agree with Jess. Just clean of some of the dirt and pop them in. yummy. I typicaly eat them raw and washed sometimes as a snack or on a salad. Some times I will peel them but then I eat the peel seperate from the rest of the radish. There is usually a bit of a different taste. Get this my dad use to cut slits in them and soak them in vinigar (not sure exactly what kind) then eat them after they soak for a while.

It's my understanding that radishes that are grown where it's cool will have a much stronger bite to them then radishes grown where it's warmer.

[hendi_alex]

"It's my understanding that radishes that are grown where it's cool will have a much stronger bite to them then radishes grown where it's warmer."

That is interesting, I would have thought exactly opposite. I know mine get much hotter when the plants are grown in the stress of summer heat and irregular water supply. My arugula is also much more pungent when grown during the heat of summer, even when the leaves are eaten at the very young tender stage. Early spring, with rapid growth, even the large leaves are mild.

A quick google to verify:

"Q. Sometimes my radishes have a hot, bitter flavor. What is the problem?


A. Off-flavored radishes are caused by planting at the wrong time or poor cultural practices such as low fertility or low moisture resulting in slow growth. For highest quality, radishes should grow fast. Fast growth can be stimulated by adequate fertility and maintaining the soil in a good moisture condition. If radishes are too old, they taste hot."

[url]https://plantanswers.tamu.edu/vegetables/radish.html[/url]

Q. What causes my radishes to be so “hotâ€

[smokensqueal]

I've must of been thinking of something else. But according to this site there are many variants that can be grown in cool temps and even warmer temps. It also says that they get "hot" because they grew to slow or are to old. I guess it has nothing to do with hot or cold temps. I'm not sure about anyone else here but every once in a while I want a radish with a hot taste. It give is a bit of a kick. And I still think they taste great.

Oh and this site also give a few suggestions on how to use/eat them and nutritional facts. Very helpful site for this thread.

https://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/radish1.html

Nutrition Facts (1/2 cup fresh sliced raw red globes)

Calories 12
Protein 0.35 grams
Carbohydrates 2.0 grams
Dietary Fiber 1 gram
Potassium 134.56 mg
Folate 15.66 mcg

[hendi_alex]

I agree wrt the zest. I prefer a cool refreshing radish just by itself. But the hot ones add a little more interest to the summer salad. And in this house, almost none get thrown away. As your post shows, a near calorie free snack, and a good source of potassium which is often needed during the summer time. Also, radishes lend themselves to a long period of succession plantings. We usually plant six to eight foot rows or row equivalents planted two or three weeks apart. Then after the heat of the summer, it is time for another planting or two for fall production.

[JennyC]

Young radish greens are good in salads. A little older they can be cooked as a pot green, but eventually they get too tough.

If yours bolt from the heat, no worries. The seed pods are great in salads or as cooked veggies or in stir fry; just get them when they're still juicy. They give me indigestion, but I love them.

The roots are also good in stir fry.

And radishes are a great trap crop for squash bugs. I interplanted in my squash.

[cynicalbrat79]

The lower "root" part of the raddish is the spiciest, you can cut them up and make your own horseraddish sauce to can/jar and enjoy throught the year. Or if your creative and skilled with a knife you can carve them in to flowers for a dinner party or cut the top flat, make a slit t the root end, turn em upside down and make them into place card holders for your own "garden party".

[fabulousmindy]

can do you make horseradish from regualr radishes? I love that!

[cynicalbrat79]

I have a friend who makes horseraddish from the red raddishes, unfortunatly it's a BIG OL secret, so I can't help you out with that.