Watermelon radish
Raphanus sativus · Root vegetable
Top 10 pairings
The watermelon radish is a large round daikon-type Chinese heirloom famous for its disguise — a dull, unpromising pale-green and creamy-white skin that splits open to reveal a vivid magenta-pink core, the reverse of a watermelon. It eats far milder than a peppery salad radish, crisp and juicy with a clean, faintly sweet-peppery bite, and is prized above all as a raw garnish for the sheer drama of its colour.
Picking a good onedrag
Snapping hard, tops upLimp, pithy, hollow
Shop firmEveryday bestSalads, slaws, tacos, quick pickles.
TopsGreen and flopping, no yellow in them
HeftFirm all over, tail bends a little
SkinMatte, a fine cracked line or two
Smell at the stemEarthy and neutral, faintly green
These cues are Radish's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.
What you get from one
90%
Edible part
4.5 g · stem ends and rootlets off
5 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
A domestic fridge holds it about 5× longer than the counter.
90–95%
Humidity
Bagged, not sealed
Airflow