Today’s “products” are daikon radishes and the traditional red radishes. While we think of red radishes as an early vegetable, the information below taught me that radishes can also be grown later in the season and they are more pungent than the earlier radishes. (I also now buy a radish bunch that has red, purple and white radishes mixed together.)

The (red) radish is a cool-season, fast-maturing, easy-to-grow vegetable. Garden radishes can be grown wherever there is sun and moist, fertile soil, even on the smallest city lot. Early varieties usually grow best in the cool days of early spring, but some later-maturing varieties can be planted for summer use. Additional sowings of spring types can begin in late summer, to mature in the cooler, more moist days of fall. Winter radishes are sown in midsummer to late summer, much as fall turnips. They are slower to develop than spring radishes; and they grow considerably larger, remain crisp longer, are usually more pungent and hold in the ground or store longer than spring varieties.

Ordinary radishes are a great source of vitamin C and are rich in minerals like sulphur, iron, and iodine. (Daikon, below, is even better, a source of vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, and folate as well as sulphur, iron, and iodine.) Radishes can be added to vegetable juice to spice up the flavor a little. In this form, they can help clear your sinus cavities and soothe your sore throat. The vitamin C in radishes is an antioxidant * and anti-inflammatory, and has been shown to have a positive effect on asthma symptoms because of its anti-inflammatory properties. Potassium can help lower your risk of kidney stones and strokes, and radishes along a diet high in other fruits and vegetables can significantly lower your risk of multiple sclerosis.

*See Glossary

Daikon radish is an Asian radish. The word Daikon actually comes from two Japanese words: dai (meaning large) and kon (meaning root). Daikon is is root vegetable said to have originated in the Mediterranean and brought to China for cultivation around 500 B.C. Roots are large, often 2 to 4 inches in diameter and 6 to 20 inches long. Chinese radishes are white, but some are yellowish, green or black. Daikon has high water content and is very low in calories.

It is rich in vitamin C, potassium and folate and a good source of magnesium, noted above. The leaves contain beta-carotene, calcium and iron, besides vitamin C. From the ayurvedic (Indian healing system) perspective, daikon is a cleansing vegetable that also fortifies the liver and enhances digestion. It has a mildly pungent taste when raw (sweeter than the conventional red-skinned radish), which mellows with cooking.

If you google each of these foods, you will get a variety of sites for information. I combined information from several sources.

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