Watermelon Radishes
When most of us hear the word “radish,” the mental image is of shiny scarlet globes with firm white flesh. Am I right? Well, not always: ever seen a watermelon radish? It doesn’t look like an ordinary radish from your local grocery, and it doesn’t taste like one, either. Both the color and taste lend variety to salads, although your kids might suspect that you’ve added beets. They’re also well-suited to those rare dishes calling for cooked radishes.
These radishes are red and white like the more familiar variety, only backward: they come with a thick, tough whitish skin wrapped around crisp, deep reddish flesh. When still small, they are pretty "tangy"; not unlike the flavor of good horseradish. The taste mellows out as they reach their full of three to four inches in diameter. A hot growing season will tend to keep them somewhat on the small side.
