Radishes grown at The Chef’s Garden come in uniquely interesting shapes and sizes, and creative use by chefs is unlimited. “I like to imagine that we’re providing culinary artists with beautiful colors to paint with, colors backed by amazing flavor.” The petite stage of a radish is especially nice, because they feature a delicate and gentle flavor. “Some people have eaten radishes that are too big,” Lee says, “and they remember how pithy and hot they were, so hot they could take your breath away. Well, they’re in for a pleasant surprise when they bite into a petite radish.”
NPR.org published an article titled “Relishing the Radish,” in which the writer fondly remembers a friend made her a radish sandwich – a first for the writer. She used “long, elegant, demurely tapered French breakfast radishes,” cutting them in a staccato rhythm on her wooden cutting board. She then “slathered slices of brown bread with sweet butter then piled high the tiny pink-white rounds between them. The first bite was a surprise of textures and flavors, crunchy and soft, creamy and piquant. I still remember standing at the kitchen counter, huddled over the cutting board, as tiny radish rounds fell from our overstuffed sandwiches with each bite. We'd catch them on the first bounce off the cutting board, greedily stuffing them into our mouths.” In the recipe that she provided, it’s suggested that you add chopped tarragon and pea shoots and/or other microgreens to the sandwich, which sounds delicious!
People of discerning taste have treasured radishes around the world for centuries. This root vegetable was likely grown in China first, in prehistoric times, and then expanded to Middle Asia. Records from Ancient Egypt indicate that radishes were eaten there before the pyramids were built and Ancient Greeks made radish replicas out of gold. Romans ate them at least 2,000 years ago, with large radishes (and we mean 100-pound radishes!) were mentioned in Germany as far back as the 13th century. Radishes were grown in the Americas by the 1500s, perhaps one of the first European crops grown in Mexico and Haiti.
Consider adding the petite cherry bomb radish to your dishes. Its mildly spicy flavor and crisp and crunchy texture adds a peppery spice when used raw and a milder flavor and creamy texture when cooked. Cherry red on the outside, they are bright white inside, a beautiful contrast in this one-bite-sized treat. The French breakfast radish contains a note of sweetness along with its mild pepper taste. The texture is succulent, crunchy and tender, and the outside is a beautiful red with a white tip.