10 Tips For Cooking With Radishes

One of the tiniest root vegetables, radishes have long been known primarily as that garnish no one eats. But with more people turning towards plant-based diets, these spicy little orbs are gaining a following with foodies looking for new tastes and textures to elevate their snacking. Far from just the bright red and white ones that you're used to, radishes actually come in a range of stunning colors and delicious degrees of heat, from mild breakfast ones to the nasal-clearing grandaddy of them all, horseradish.

The wide variety means that you can experiment with using them in loads of different recipes. As a root vegetable, they'll stand up to being tossed into stews and braises. But for something more on the refreshing side, radishes make an exceptionally tasty coleslaw with a simple squeeze of lime and even a superb kimchi with a bit of fermentation. We bet your interest is peaked already.

As a root vegetable, radishes will last longer in a cool space, just like your harvest of beets, carrots, and turnips. That gives you a few options, so don't panic. Radishes will last at least two weeks (and up to a month, if you're extra diligent) at home if taken care of properly. And the options aren't hard, we swear. Simply tossing them into your root cellar is the most basic option and works just fine.

To gain even more veggie time, clean those sweet little spheres and remove the roots and leaves. Hang on to the greens (until you finish this article), but the roots can be composted without guilt. Take the still-damp radishes and just drop 'em into a baggie with a damp paper towel (as per Busy Creating Memories) before stowing them in the fridge.

Pickling them is more labor intensive but is a great option if you have more radish than you know what to do with. One of the best ways to store radishes, pickling provides a long-term storage option and delicious flavor, all at the same time.

If you need a longer-term solution that doesn't involve pickling, you can certainly freeze those gorgeous globes with little consequence — as long as you're not hoping for crunchy, raw radishes six months from now. Blanching before freezing will help preserve some delightful crispness and color by reducing "their natural enzymatic ripening reactions" (as per Fork in the Road). Ok, enough science — here's what to do.

Prepare them in the same way as you would typically — wash and trim. Fork in the Road suggests cutting them into quarters and then simply blanching for a few minutes, cooling in ice water, and drying the radishes before bagging them up and tossing them into the freezer for later use. Vacuum-sealed bags are preferable, but some of us don't have that kind of kitchen space, thank you very much. A well-sealed freezer bag will work almost as well if you don't have a vacuum seal handy.

Let's say that you've followed our advice so far but still have one burning question: What about all these leaves? Composting is noble and makes for incredible houseplants but eating them might be even better. Please note that all of this advice pertains to leaves that are freshly lopped off your recent radish acquisitions. Leaving them on lets them absorb precious moisture from the attached ruddy red treasure (as per Love & Lemons), so instead, trim the greens and wrap them in a damp paper towel until ready to use — up to three days. You didn't buy them just to eat the leaves after the radishes shriveled up and died, did you?

Now what? Radish greens can be used like most leafy greens — toss them into a salad for a peppery bite, sautée with garlic if you want to subdue that flavor or make a truly delish radish pesto that has an unexpected zip.

Suppose you want the crispy, crunchy goodness of a raw radish, but you just can't bear how spicy or bitter they can be. Luckily, we've got some answers for your brassicaceae (yeah, we're pretty smart) woes. Radishes, especially the pretty ones, make such a lovely complement to any fresh salad, slaw, or crudité platter, whether served whole or sliced into fancy garnishes. But what if you're too sensitive for the heat they bring to the table?

Fear not, gentle one. There are ways to make that daikon less bitter or to take the heat out of that white icicle. Gardening Know How makes it sound pretty simple — prep them like you normally would but give them a few extra slices before popping them into some icy cool water. 45 minutes later, the horseradish-reminiscent kick is almost gone, and those little mouthfuls are ready to go.

If cocktail hour is something that inspires you to cut loose and try something new, then this is the paragraph that you've been waiting for. First of all, as we mentioned before, radishes with butter and salt are a match made in heaven. Eaten in France as a breakfast item, it also makes an incredibly tasty cocktail side dish. Don't believe us? Certainly, Dorie Greenspan's rave review of buttered and salted radishes will do.

And finally, if that's not enough, let us propose one last way to wow your tastebuds with these little flavor bombs. The Red King, a radish and gin cocktail, should convince you that sometimes veggies are indeed better when disguised. Not only used as a gorgeous garnish, macerated radishes also give the sublime cocktail an unexpected kick and a hint of pink. We think that combination sounds totally rad.