Rex Trulove
When people think of how delicious and healthy vegetables are, the vegetables they think of usually don’t include radishes. Yet, radishes have a lot going for them.
Origins of radishes
Radishes, known as daikons in Asia, have been eaten since before the Roman Empire was established. The radish was first domesticated in Europe. Nobody knows for sure where wild radishes first grew, though some people believe that it was in southern Asia. Today, radishes are grown and eaten around the world.
Members of a healthy family
Radishes are Brassica vegetables. That is, they belong to the cabbage family, alternately known as the mustard family. This family is well-known for its healthy characteristics. Indeed, the substances that give Brassica vegetables their flavor are among those that give the health benefits.
Garden radishes
Radishes are one of the favorite vegetables grown in gardens, especially for first-time gardeners, because they tend to germinate in less than a week and with some varieties, first harvests can often occur just 23 days after planting. There are many different cultivars, too.
This makes them valuable for marking rows. Adding some radish seeds to the seeds of vegetables that take substantially longer to germinate is a great way of knowing exactly where the row is. By the time the other plants are large enough to compete for nutrients, the radishes are normally ready to harvest.
Radishes nutritionally
People are often surprised to learn that radishes are moderately high in vitamin C. Yet, a cup of raw radishes contains over 17 mg of this vitamin. That is nearly a third of the recommended daily allowance.
They are also a source of folate, calcium, potassium, manganese, copper, phosphorus, and magnesium. They contain dietary fiber and are quite high in Omega-3 fatty acids.
A cupful of sliced radishes only contains about 19 calories and this vegetable has a glycemic load index of 1, which is exceptionally low. This makes radishes excellent for diabetics.
More than a root crop
Being a member of the brassica, one part of the plant that is routinely overlooked as a food source is the leaves. They are quite edible. Steamed, they have a flavor that is similar to steamed mustard leaves. Some people enjoy chopping and adding the leaves to fresh, chopped spinach before steaming. This gives the spinach a bit of zest that is wonderful.
Too often, people discard the leaves as being inedible, never realizing that they are throwing away valuable food.
Great companions
The value of radishes doesn’t stop at being a great source of food. The plants are also good companions to other fruits and vegetables. They have repellent properties, discouraging aphids, ants, squash bugs, and cucumber beetles, among other insects.
They are fantastic to grow next to cucumbers and both plants benefit. They also grow well with peas and lettuce.
Other value
Asian cultures often grow radishes/daikons for the seeds, which are most often converted to oil. This oil is similar to canola oil, which is made from oil that comes from the seeds of another Brassica; Rapeseed.
The seeds can also be sprouted and used in a similar way that bean sprouts or alfalfa sprouts are used.
Radishes are often overlooked, but they are a valuable vegetable with a lot of benefits in a healthy diet. Radishes may be lowly vegetables, but they have a great deal going for them. Most of us would be wise to eat more radishes.
A truly well prepared article from the knowledge of a naturalist or earth scientist. One question. I was hospitalized and near died from using Levaquin. I also cannot consume Menthol, mint and radishes cause severe pain in my mouth, tongue and breathing. Any relation to these vegetables?
Thanks you
You are quite welcome!
I really enjoy radishes. I always plant many in my garden.
That is a very good thing. I usually grow several types in my garden, too.
Interesting stuff about radishes. I never knew this stuff. Thanks for sharing this with us Rex!
My pleasure. Radishes are actually far more healthy than most people think if they even think about it at all.
Nice post.
Thank you!
welcome
We have always grown radishes as did my father…They very popular in the UK and we just eat them as a pop in the fridge and pinch one or pull it up, wipe and eat one..Certainly underated and the leaves are lovely steamed 🙂
I’d daresay that most Americans have never even tried the steamed leaves. I enjoy them as they remind me of steamed mustard leaves, which I also love. I’ve always enjoyed being able to go out to work in the garden and to be able to pluck a radish now and then, brush it off, and eat it. I know of a few recipes that include radishes that are cooked, but I like them raw. :))
Nice post!
Thanks, I appreciate it.
Great Post.
Thank you!
I adore radishes, every single kind! I love to eat them raw when I am in a snacky mood!
I like them raw, too, and have been known to pull them up, brush them off, and eat them right there in the garden while weeding. lol
Our HOA prohibits gardens so I haven’t had one in many years. But I do love grabbing them at the farmers market on Saturdays.
Rex, Nails hit squarely on heads here! I agree with you that that radishes are very easy to grow and delicious to eat. There are so many varieties that one can try as well. I think some people may have been put off eating them by waiting too long – a radish can easily get too “hot” or “woody” if it stays too long in the ground.
I agree, John. One year, I grew a type of radish I’d never heard of, but it was a sort of ‘French breakfast radish’. They were white and quite large, rather like Asian daikon radishes but a little larger. Those radishes were surprisingly sweet and flavorful. I haven’t been able to find the seeds yet and didn’t let any of them go to seed, but the flavor was atypical and it occurred to me that there are probably cultivars out there that people who say that they don’t like radishes would like.
Incidentally, by large, I mean it. The largest was around 12 cm in diameter at the top and 30 cm in length. It was huge compared to the common red, spherical radish. Yet it was crisp and not woody at all.
That is a serious radish! I wouldn`t want to meet it coming the other way on a dark night!