With their great crunchy texture and spicy flavor, radishes make amazing pickles.
Feel free to be creative when making pickles, and use what’s in season. Some combinations that I love are thinly sliced radish pickles with cider vinegar, coriander, cumin, chili and fenugreek. Another option is quartered radish pickles with white vinegar, garlic and white peppercorns. Try matchstick purple daikon pickles with rice wine vinegar, fresh ginger, cayenne and star anise.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup vinegar (white, cider or rice wine all work well)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- spices, herbs and seasonings to taste
- 1 bunch radishes or 1 large daikon radish, topped and washed
Preparation
Bring water and vinegar to a boil. Add salt and sugar and whisk to dissolve. Add spices and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. While the brine is cooling, slice, chop or matchstick radishes to your liking. Pack radishes in a glass jar, leaving 1 inch of headroom at the top of the jar. Pour brine over radishes and refrigerate several hours to overnight. Flavor will intensify with time.
