Winter radishes are notably different from the smaller, brighter and often punchier ones you can grow from spring onwards. Winter radishes are left to grow for longer, so they can become larger, and while they can be eaten raw, there are many recipes for cooking them in soups and stir-fries, or roasting them like other root vegetables.
The first winter radish I ever encountered was the ‘Black Spanish Round’ (Raphanus sativus). This heritage variety develops into tennis ball-sized spheres with a rough black skin that conceals bright white, crisp flesh. I didn’t even realise the mooli – or daikon – was a winter radish when I was eating it pickled in a Vietnamese banh mi sandwich or fermented into kimchi. They develop an impressively long, conical root with a mild flavour and pleasingly crunchy texture, and I would grow them if only my heavy clay soil would allow it. The watermelon radish is my personal holy grail. It’s the prettiest radish that I’ve failed to grow despite trying these past few seasons. They’re not much to behold until they’re sliced open to reveal a vibrant fuchsia flesh. I blame end‑of‑summer exhaustion for all the times I’ve tried but haven’t succeeded in growing what ought to be a fairly easy crop.
