Radishes - Healthy Recipes And More

radish

The round, bright red radishes give the snack platter or salad platter a colorful eye-catcher. With a little imagination and skill, funny animals can be carved out of them. They are among the first things spring has to offer. The mustard oils (glucosinolates), responsible for the typical taste and the slight spiciness, help the plant to defend itself against predators. Radishes are also easy to cook and don't just have to be eaten raw…

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• Botany
• ingredients
• Use and preparation
• storage

Botany

The radish (Raphanus sativus) belongs to the large cruciferous family (Brassicaceae), which also includes cauliflower, kohlrabi and radish. The most popular is the small, rounded and intensely red colored radish. Rarer varieties have white, red and white, pink, yellow or purple skin. In addition to the color, the shape of the bulb can vary from round, ovoid-oval to oblong. However, the flesh is always white to slightly pink. The variety "Eiszapfen" is already very similar to the closely related radish, it is white with an oblong to pointed shape.

There are spring, summer and autumn radishes. They are therefore available from April to October.

ingredients

With only 14 kcal / 100 g, radishes are a low-calorie, crunchy snack. Its content of vitamin C, folic acid and the mineral potassium is noteworthy. The mustard oils (glucosinolates), responsible for the typical taste and the slight spiciness, help the plant to defend itself against predators. These substances are very healthy for the human body and can have a positive effect on the immune system, among other things. Radishes from the greenhouse have less mustard oil due to the lack of predators, other environmental influences and faster growth. For more information on glucosinolates, see the overview table: This is how saponins and co.

ingredients	per 100 g edible portion, raw	ingredients	per 100 g edible portion, raw
Energy (kcal)	14th	Iron (mg)	0.4
Fat (g)	0.1	Vitamin A (µg)	3.8
Protein (g)	1.1	Vitamin B1 (mg)	0.04
Carbohydrates (g)	2.1	Vitamin B2 (mg)	0.04
Dietary fiber (g)	1.6	Niacin (mg)	0.2
Potassium (mg)	255	Vitamin B6 (mg)	0.06
Calcium (mg)	26th	Vitamin C (mg)	27
Magnesium (mg)	8th	Folic acid (µg)	24

Use and preparation

Whether in a salad, spread or as a decorative bread roll topping - radishes are best eaten raw, so they are the crispest and most flavorful. But they are also suitable for cooking, which reduces their slight sharpness. When cooked, radishes go well with meat dishes, sauces or in soups. The leaves can also be cut into small pieces, such as salad or soup herbs.

Before processing, you should wash the radishes thoroughly and remove any earth residue. Cut off the foliage with stems and roots. The leaves can be eaten raw like seasoning herbs or cooked like spinach. Radishes are used whole, sliced, or grated.

storage

Radishes cannot be stored for long. Wrapped in a damp cloth, they will keep in the refrigerator for two to three days. The best way to do this is to cut the leaves down to a centimeter - they would draw water from the tuber and accelerate withering.

When shopping, pay attention to fresh and firm tubers, as well as the condition of the foliage - it should not be withered. Radishes harvested too late are often spongy or lignified.

Note Slack radishes become crisp again if you put them in the water for a short time.