Radish is not only delicious, but also healthy. Its mustard oils have a positive effect on the liver and digestion and can provide relief for some diseases. Radish is especially popular in Asia and comes there often and with pleasure on the table. In this country, the root vegetable is consumed in far smaller quantities – wrongly! Because radish is extremely healthy due to its valuable nutrients and ingredients. We reveal what makes radish so healthy, what it does in the body and how you can easily make your own tasty cough syrup from radish.
Radish: in many colors and shapes
Radish does not refer to a single type of vegetable, but rather a whole group. Basically, a distinction is made between summer radish and winter radish, and between small and large radishes. Small radishes include radishes, for example, while large ones include especially winter varieties such as the icicle-shaped white beer radish, the round black radish and the large, Asian daikon radish. Mild in pungency than its Western relatives, the latter is one of the most important vegetables in Asia. Although radishes vary in color and shape, the flesh is always white. Winter radishes are sharper, richer in ingredients and harder from the skin than the stocky, light-colored and very aromatic in taste summer radishes.
What nutrients does radish contain?
A radish has hardly any calories and fat, since it consists of 94 percent water. For this, the root vegetable provides all the more valuable nutrients. On 100 grams of radish come the following nutritional values:
- 14 kilocalories
- 1 gram protein
- 0.2 grams fat
- 1.9 grams of carbohydrates
- 1.2 grams of dietary fiber
Other ingredients of radish
When asked what vitamins radish contains, it should be said that 200 grams of radish provide more than half of the daily vitamin C requirement. In addition, the root vegetable provides some B vitamins, various enzymes and bitter substances. In addition, radish is rich in minerals such as:
- Potassium
- Sodium
- Magnesium
- Calcium
- Phosphorus
- Iron
Other main active ingredients of radish are the pungent mustard oils (mustard oil glycosides), sulfur-containing oils, cinnamic acids and flavonoids. By the way, the red radish variety contains a certain dye that is approved as a food coloring. However, the color of the skin of the red radish does not affect the taste.
How healthy is radish?
Due to almost non-existent calories and fats, radish is excellent as a snack or a slim side dish for a snack. In addition, the root vegetable has an extremely positive effect on health. Because the mustard oils contained in radish have a demonstrably beneficial effect on the liver, gall bladder and digestion.
What does radish do?
Radish acts exclusively internally. This means that the root vegetable can have an effect on internal organs and their processes. For centuries, radish has been used in folk medicine to treat coughs, rheumatism and gout, among other ailments. The contained mustard oils, first of all the oil raphanol, as well as the bitter substances show an antibiotic effect. The production of bile in the liver is stimulated, which supports fat digestion. Flatulence and any digestive problems such as constipation can therefore be treated with radish as a supplement. In addition, the pungent mustard oils and bitter compounds accumulate predominantly in the lungs and urinary bladder, stimulating fluid secretion from the mucous membranes. Radish can thus effectively loosen mucus in the respiratory tract during coughs and the like. What’s more, radish not only has an antispasmodic and expectorant effect, but the mustard oils also fight bacteria and fungi in the stomach. For this reason, radish is an effective and well-tolerated alternative to synthetically produced antibiotics, especially for bacterial respiratory tract and urinary tract infections.
Black radish for cough – a recipe for cough syrup.
Radish is used not only in the kitchen, but also as a time-tested, natural remedy. Especially for colds such as coughs and bronchitis, the most nutritious radish – black radish – is used. Here it has an expectorant and anti-inflammatory effect as a cough syrup or juice.
Cough syrup recipe with radish
For a radish cough syrup, you need black radish as well as brown rock candy. Black radish is in season from October to February. That’s when it’s available at the supermarket, greengrocer or farmer’s market. Here are step-by-step instructions for making cough syrup:
- Cut the top off the radish and scoop out about a third of the flesh with a spoon. When cut open, the mustard oils contained in the radish are released by enzymes and stimulate the mucous membranes.
- Now place the hollowed out radish with the bottom down on a glass and pierce with a needle a few times through the cavity and the bottom of the radish.
- Fill the radish up to the round with rock candy and put the lid back on the radish.
- Now you have to wait – at least for a few hours or overnight. During this time, the cough syrup drips through the holes in the jar.
Take one teaspoon of the cough syrup three to five times a day. Alternatively, the syrup can also be added to a tea or additionally sweetened with honey. Once the sugar in the radish is completely dissolved, you can hollow out the flesh a little more, poke the holes and fill the radish with candy again. This will give you a fresh cough syrup. This process can be repeated until there is no pulp left.
When not to eat radish
If you have a sensitive stomach, you should rather avoid eating radish, as it could further irritate your stomach. You should also refrain from eating radish immediately after colic or if you have an inflamed bile duct.
Why does radish taste spicy?
Radishes contain three different mustard oils that give the vegetable its typical piquant to burning hot and very spicy taste, depending on the variety and season. Basically, the winter varieties are hotter than the summer varieties. The red radish contains a particularly large amount of essential oils and therefore tastes particularly pungent and bitter.
When is radish season?
Radish can be obtained almost all year round, because the time for harvesting differs depending on the variety of radish: the white to pink summer radish is already ripe eight to ten weeks after sowing and can be harvested from the end of May. It is important to know that summer radishes can only be kept for a few days. Brown to black winter radish takes a little longer to ripen and can only be harvested from the ground after 13 to 15 weeks in October. In any case, harvest should be completed before the first frost. Since winter radishes can be stored very well, they are available for purchase until March. Depending on the variety, a radish weighs 300 grams to four kilos, rarely more. Depending on the season and the supplier, a radish costs under one to two euros per piece.
How do I store radishes?
A fresh summer radish will keep in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator without problems for about ten days. Tip: Before storing, remove the foliage and wrap the radish in a damp cloth. This will keep it fresh and crisp for longer. Winter radishes such as black radish can even keep for several months unwashed and embedded in damp sand in a dark, cool cellar with high humidity.
When is radish bad?
You can recognize a fresh radish by a smooth and undamaged skin and firm flesh. Any remaining foliage should be a juicy green. On the other hand, if the leaves are yellowish and wilted, if the flesh gives way when pressed with your thumb, or if it is woody, the radish is no longer edible. In addition, care should be taken to ensure that the vegetable is not affected by radish blackness. This is a fungal disease that can occur, for example, in calcareous soils or periods of damp weather. The radish then takes on a dark blue to black color from the outside and becomes rotten on the inside.
Prepare radish – 6 tips
- Typically, you eat radish raw. To do this, you wash the radish, dry it and peel it if necessary (as in the case of black radish, for example). Then you can cut it into fine slices, shave or grate, depending on your preference.
- If you want to take some of the sharpness out of the radish for consumption, you can sprinkle it with salt, let it sit for about five minutes and then dab. The salt removes mustard oils from the radish in addition to liquid.
- Important for people with a sensitive stomach: salting the radish also makes it more digestible.If you cook radish, it loses almost all its pungency.
- To radish fit fish or meat particularly well, but also in the salad or on the bread radish makes a good figure. There are numerous recipes for radish salads (for example, with beet) and for radish soups. Also, you can combine radish well with other root vegetables such as kohlrabi, celery or carrots in a dish.
- If you put radish, you can preserve it longer and enjoy the vegetable regardless of the season.
- In southern Germany, you eat radish mainly in the Bavarian style. There, spirally cut radish is known as “Radi” and is as much part of the snack as the white sausage.
What is radish actually exactly?
Radishes are a genus of plants in the cruciferous family. Depending on the variety of radish, the average 30 to 40 centimeters tall turnip growing underground differs in size, shape and color. Originally, the radish is located in the Mediterranean region from the north of Africa through Europe and the front of Asia to Pakistan. However, radish is now grown almost worldwide and is mainly used in cooking. With the horseradish the radish is not to be brought despite word relationship more near in connection.
