Pickled Watermelon Radishes
There is some evidence that pickled vegetables help promote digestive health and lower cholesterol. Health benefits aside, pickling is a really easy and delicious way of preserving the season’s bounty for months to come..
The basic ratio (Ruhlman) for a pickling brine is 20:1, that is, 20 ounces of water (filtered) to 1 ounce of kosher salt. To this you may add antimicrobial spices such as garlic, cloves or mustard and (optionally) a little non-refined sugar.
Bring the brine to a boil then remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Mix in a few ounces of the liquid from a previous batch (if available) to intensify the flavor and color.
Pack the radishes into a clean jar and weight down (I’m using a bag of dried beans), then cover with brine and seal.
Keep at room temperature for about 1 week (or 3 days if you add whey) before transferring to the refrigerator.
While you don’t have to go through all the meticulous sterilizing that canning requires, it is important to use clean utensils and to use at least a 20:1 brine ratio. Properly pickled, your radishes will have a ph of around 4.6 and will keep for several months.
Dink said,
June 18, 2009 at 4:59 am
Did you grow those radishes? I’ve never seen any like that
Ren said,
June 18, 2009 at 7:06 am
No, those came in this week’s basket from greenling.com. Beauty, eh?
Cage Free Family said,
June 19, 2009 at 8:43 pm
How were they compared to your average garden variety?
Ren said,
June 19, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Watermelon radishes are actually an heirloom variety of daikon. I would describe the taste as both peppery and a little sweet- very well suited to pickling.
sustainableeats said,
June 24, 2009 at 12:51 am
OMG those are the niftiest pickling veggies I’ve ever seen! Now I’m on the hunt for seeds – what beautiful gift! Thanks for sharing them.
Ren said,
June 24, 2009 at 7:33 am
Thanks! They turned out a little rubbery this time, unfortunately. Next time I’m going to try just pickling overnight in the refrigerator and not do the 3-day lacto process.
Sarah said,
February 12, 2012 at 11:28 am
seeds can be purchases at diggers.com.au
Sarah said,
February 12, 2012 at 11:58 am
Thanks for sharing this Ren :) I’ve just grown these & want to try pickling them too – anyway in your last reply here I’m not sure what you mean by – “overnight in the refridgerator” – is this using a different to above or instead of keeping at room temp for a week before refridgerating with the above recipe??
Ren said,
February 12, 2012 at 12:04 pm
I wasn’t thrilled with the texture after leaving them out for a week, so thought I’d try going straight to the refrigerator next time. I’m guessing that it will take a couple of days at least..
Al Willis said,
June 16, 2012 at 1:49 pm
I just picked our first harvest, gettting ready to try the overnight in the refrigerator method…I’ll let you know how they come out.
Al
Ren said,
June 17, 2012 at 12:42 am
Anxious to hear, Al, thanks!
kim said,
June 18, 2012 at 9:59 am
I just harveted some watermelon radishes from the garden and was going to see if I could pickle them. Thanks for the info!
Ren said,
June 18, 2012 at 10:06 am
Great! I didn’t know this at the time, but for a more crisp texture you can add a couple of pinches of decaffeinated English breakfast tea or a fresh grape leaf to the jar.
drg1949 said,
June 18, 2012 at 5:38 pm
You may want to peel the rind off before you pickle them as it has a tough, fibre like texture. I tasted one of mine this morning.
Definitely a good item for pickling. I really enjoyed the flavor, but like I said the rind was very tough.
Ren said,
June 19, 2012 at 5:49 am
Good tip! Thanks!