Pickled Radishes

Our family has fallen in love with pickled food.  We eat something pickled every day.  I often will have pickles, onions, asparagus, radishes or carrots pickling in our refrigerator on any given days.

I find that our friends and family that visit also enjoy these lovely side dishes.  Pickled food is great by its self, on a cracker, served with hummus or used as a topping in your favorite sandwich.

My two year old loves the red onions the best.  The red radishes are my husbands favorite.  Not only are they the right blend of sweet and tart, they are still firm enough to enjoy the bite that comes from eating a radish slice.  My favorite part?  The pink brine.  The pink comes from the red skin.  It just looks pretty.  I like pretty food.

Pickling is a great way to preserve food too.  It comes in handy for our family when I notice I have purchased too much of one thing.  Cucumbers come to my mind first.  I tend to buy one or two extra cucumbers that sit in the fridge for a bit too long.  I try really hard to not waste food.

I use a simple brine mixture for all of my pickling items.  I like the combination of rice wine, water, salt, and sugar.  To vary the flavorings I also add pickling spices, fresh herbs (my favorite is dill which is pictured in the photo above) and sometimes I will use a variety of vinegars.  I like rice wine because it is mild and has the right amount of "pucker" for our taste buds.  I can use it by itself or mixed with water and achieve great results.

Pickled Radishes

1 bunch of radishes, tops removed and sliced thin
1 cup of rice wine
1 cup of water
2 teaspoons of pickling spices
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
***take note: the sugar and salt are just estimates.  Taste the brine and then decide if you want more salt or sugar or both.  Sometimes I will do this after it has sat for an hour too.

1.  Use a clean container.  I like glass.  Add the sliced radishes, sugar, and salt.   If you choose to add fresh herbs, do this now too.

2.  In a small pot add vinegar, pickling spices, and water.  Bring to a boil and remove from heat.  Add hot mixture to radishes.  Let cool on counter.

3.  Refrigerate when cool.  We eat our pickled products within two weeks.