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Radishes are one of the earliest vegetables to be harvested in spring. With a cultivation time of just 3 – 4 weeks, they can be ready to eat by beginning to mid-April, if we sowed them early enough, maybe even in the greenhouse. One of my greatest delights in spring is to make a large salad bowl and add the first radishes, freshly harvested from the greenhouse. But radishes are also great for fermentation. Here are two of my favourite recipes for fermented radishes:

Fermented radish slices

Dry-salting technique

You can make this recipe with any variety available. Red varieties, however, are particularily pretty.

Ingredients

1,5 kg radishes, thinly sliced
1 tbsp unrefined salt

Instructions

1. Put the radishes into a bowl and mix them with half the amount of salt. Rub the salt in well and taste the radishes: they should be salty but not too much. If necessary, add some salt. The radishes become wet and soft and slowly a brine builds.

2. Now, put the radishes portion by portion into the fermentation container of your choice and press them tightly with your hands or a tamper into the jar to avoid air bubbles. There should be enough brine to cover the radishes. Leave about 2 cm to the lid, put a weight onto the radishes so they stay under the brine and close the container.

3. Put the bowl onto a tray and let the radishes ferment for 5 – 14 days at a cool place without direct sunlight. Make sure that there’s always enough brine.

4. Taste the radishes after 5 days. If they are ready, store them in the fridge, if not, leave them out to ferment further until you like the taste. You can store the fermented radishes in a cool basement for up to 6 months.

Whole fermented radishes

Brine technique

Ingredients

1 – 2 bundles of radishes, cleaned
3 – 4 spring onions (only the white part)

For the brine

1 tbsp unrefined salt
1 tsp sugar
1 l Water

Instructions

1. Wash the radishes and spring onions in cold water and put them into the fermentation container of your choice. Make sure the vegetables are stacked tightly.

2. For the brine, dissolve the salt and sugar in the water and pour so much brine over the vegetables until they are fully covered. Store the brine (up to one week) in the fridge. Secure the lid on the fermentation container.

3. Put the bowl onto a tray and let the radishes ferment for 7 – 10 days at a cool place without direct sunlight. If too much brine evaporates, fill up with the brine in your fridge.

4. In the course of the fermentation process, the radishes will lose their colour and the brine becomes opaque. Now it’s time to taste.

5. If you are satisfied with the taste and want to eat them right then, store the radishes in the fridge. If not, leave them out to ferment further until you like the taste. You can store the fermented radishes in a cool basement for up to 6 months.

Variations

You can play with adding further herbs and spices to your radishes, for example ground coriander or minced garlic. If you like it hot, add some chilli flakes or grated ginger. Lemon peel makes also a great and interesting taste. Become creative!