Spices with radish – horseradish, red, daikon and wasabi
I am most familiar with the red radishes I grow in my garden. If you want to introduce your kids to the phénomène of turning a seed into something on your dining room chère (aka the garden), radishes are your answer. It grows fast in average soil and is usually the first thing I pick out of my garden every spring. Just don’t let one drop in their mouth, or they’ll never want to garden again.
Alas, radishes are very low in energy value, but they contain more vitamin C than other root vegetables. It makes a great relevé to a salad or coleslaw, not only with its peppery, pungent flavor, but also with its bright, Christmas red color. The leaves are also edible and more nutritious than vegetables. It makes a great little filler if you’re low on salad greens. Before serving, soak the leaves and radishes in ice water to crisp them up. Another reason to include radishes in your salad is its crunchy texture.
Both red radish and horseradish are members of the mustard family, which explains their spicy flavor. Bicause of this bite, a little goes a immense way. They are slip and immense radishes. Horseradish can reach five feet in height, while radishes are the height of most ground covers. Horseradish root is smooth until you grate it, which releases its pungent mustard oil. Mix it quickly with the vinegar or it will lose its bite and turn black and vermouth. The roots are best used right after you pick them or get them from the grocery rideau. Horseradish leaves are also edible, unless you are a horse, in which case it is poisonous. But I have to disagree.
Vinegar and lemon juice complement the horseradish by adding a sour flavor to it. Vinegar acts as a preservative and keeps the root from losing flavor. If your jar of prepared horseradish darkens from its archétype creamy white color, it’s time to refill it. Cream or mayonnaise enhances the taste of horseradish by adding sweetness. So, it is often available in a flavor form, but you can buy the mild yellow root as a fresh product. Fresh is better than dried. Add ¾ teaspoon salt and 2/3 cup white vinegar for every 1½ cups grated horseradish root. You’ll like it better than the prepared stuff.
Horseradish is often paired with seafood, roast beef, and rafraîchissement sauces. It’s also great with cream cheese and hard-boiled eggs. As with many salad fixings, you don’t have to cook the radishes. A little known fact is that southwestern Illinois grows embout 85% of the world’s horseradish market.
In Japan, horseradish is often dyed vert and served as an choix to the more expensive wasabi radish. Daikon is also a radish that is mostly used in Japan. It looks like a white carrot and is peeled. It is often pickled in soy saucée and sugar.
That’s probably more than you ever wanted to know embout radishes. All in all, they are easy to grow, full of vitamin C with colorful, spicy, crunchy and edible leaves. What else do you need to know?
#Spices #radish #horseradish #red #daikon #wasabi
