Explain radishes to me.

July 23, 2012 7:33 PM

Every Sunday I go to the greenmarket and buy a bunch of radishes. If I bring them home and cut them up and eat them immediately, then they retain their crispness and are a delicious treat. If I let them sit out or in the fridge even just until the end of the day, they become tender to the touch on the outside and lose that satisfying crunch. What am I doing wrong? Is there anything I can do to keep them fresh?
posted by AaRdVarK to Food & Drink (14 answers total)

Best answer: You just need to soak them in water. I trim them, wash them and then float them in a bowl of water and they're ready to go. They stay crispy for a couple of days, but they don't usually last that long. The one side effect is that they mellow out a bit and can lose some of their bite.
posted by defreckled at 7:36 PM on July 23, 2012 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Yeah, radishes need to be kept in water.
posted by griphus at 7:38 PM on July 23, 2012

Best answer: I do exactly what defreckled does. They stay crispy and fresh tasting for over a week. (This also works great with carrots!)
posted by Kololo at 7:39 PM on July 23, 2012

Best answer: Oh and also: putting them in water after they've gone a bit soft totally brings them back to life. So feel free to revive your radishes.
posted by Kololo at 7:40 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

I haven't had a problem with soft radishes, so here's what I do: When I get home from the store, I remove the tops (just by pulling them off with my hands) and wash the radishes. I pat them with a dishcloth but I don't dry them off completely. Then I store them (whole) in a sealed container and they stay crispy for several days.
posted by kitty teeth at 7:43 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

I leave the leaves on and I don't wash them until I'm ready to eat them. When I trim the leaves, they wilt much faster.
posted by feste at 8:07 PM on July 23, 2012

I usually don't put the effort into keeping them in water. I don't wash them or trim the leaves until I'm ready to eat them; and I keep them in a loosely sealed bag in the vegetable crisper drawer of the fridge. They seem to stay crisp for several days. I think the bag is maybe the most important part.
posted by snorkmaiden at 9:15 PM on July 23, 2012

Best answer: I'm so used to the quartered radishes sitting in ice cold water from taquerias that often I'll even put fresh radishes into ice water to snack on. It definitely keeps them cold and crunchy.
posted by WasabiFlux at 9:17 PM on July 23, 2012

I've never bought local radishes, but when I buy them at the grocery store, they come in a little pouch. I refrigerate them in the vegetable crisper and they not only stay firm and crisp, they stay firm and crisp for well over a week. In fact, I usually forget about them and find them a few over a week later.. 've never kept them in water. I don't open the pouch until I'm ready to eat them. I only take out one or two per salad and don't wash or trim them until I'm ready to slice one into a salad. But, I've never had to throw out a radish!
posted by Mael Oui at 10:23 PM on July 23, 2012

> When I trim the leaves, they wilt much faster

Strange! my experience is the opposite: removing the leaves keeps the roots from losing H2O through transpiration. Does this depend on the local humidity?
posted by anadem at 10:37 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The best way to eat radishes is fresh from the market, with sweet butter and salt. The French know how to eat radishes.

If you have to store them, as others have said, do it in cold water in the fridge.

A lovely slaw can be made with grated radishes and cucumber in vinegar. Older radishes will work in this.
posted by trip and a half at 10:59 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm pretty sure that means they are old.
posted by gjc at 4:52 AM on July 24, 2012

With spinach, I put it in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel. I imagine this would word with the radishes.
posted by kitcat at 8:02 AM on July 24, 2012

Best answer: I've worked in lots of restaurants and they're commonly stored in cold water.
posted by Miko at 10:30 AM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]