Pickled Radishes

It may have been one of those unusual foods to grow up with, but I can't think of my childhood without the memory of my grandma's pickles. She pickled everything from regular cucumbers to cauliflower to carrots to jalapeño peppers. My entire family has the highest tolerance to heat so she would make them extremely spicy. I have fond memories of my grandpa eating her spicy pickles peppers and using the handkerchief he always carried around to wipe the beads of sweat off of his forehead. There was never a moment in my childhood where I would go to my Mama's house and there wouldn't be a row of pickle jars with an array of fermenting veggies. They were famous amongst my friends--nothing could beat that balance of sour and salty that so many of us crave.

My version is definitely different from my Mama's easy, out-of-sight version of pickling. I've recently become obsessed with the book Wild Fermentation and was inspired by his kimchi recipe using any kind of vegetables. He mentioned using root vegetables, so instead of using an assortment, I decided to use the 3 beautiful bunches of red radishes I already had laying around in my fridge. All of the remaining ingredients were already in my fridge as well and I realized how simple it was to make something that seriously intimidated me for years!

Just like miso, this recipe takes a bit more patience, but the end results are absolutely fantastic. That fermented effervescence--the bubbly sensation--that the radishes emit after lounging in their brine is so eye-opening. It's a very different mouth-feel to a regular pickle and the flavor that this particular recipe provides is a much bolder flavor too.

Materials:

• Crock, 2+ gallons
• Plate
• Heavy weight

Ingredients:

• 3-4 cups of radishes, or other root veggies of choice
• 1/2 onion
• 4-5 garlic gloves
• 2 green chilis
• 2+ tbsp ginger
• 1/4-1/3 cup salt
• 1/4 cup sugar (optional)

Directions:

• Wash the radishes very thoroughly. Trim off the limp green stems, but be sure to leave some of the green showing instead of shaving it off the entire radish. 
• Place the radishes in the crock and fill with enough water to cover. Add about 1/4 cup salt and agitate water so it all dissolves. If the water tastes like the sea, success, if not, add a few more tablespoons and repeat. 
• Using a plate that's smaller than the diameter of the crock, or anything else that can keep the radishes completely submerged under the water. Leave overnight or up to 24 hours in the salt brine. 
• After time has elapsed, drain water into bowl in order to save brine for later. 
• Mince the onion, garlic, ginger and chili very finely or crush with a mortar and pestle. Mix together with the radishes then reincorporate some of the brine liquid to just barely cover the mixture. Reinsert the plate and weigh down with a heavy jar or can. 



The Finished Product.

• Day after day check on the radishes, and every so often taste them to see how they transform over time. You'll find they have changed after at least a week. After a few weeks the effervescence becomes noticeable, and from there you can take the kimchi as far as you want to go. I left mine to ferment for about a month, using the actual vessel to weight down my miso. Once they pickle to your liking, you can either jar them and halt the fermentation process in the refrigerator, or keep them jarred on the counter where they will continue to bubble and pickle.