Unlikely Friends & Ceaseless Yapping - Radish
Hello and welcome back for another week of Rooted. This episode has been requested a few times, so I am finally giving in to the peer pressure and digging into Radishes! These are technically a cold season veggie, but we’re going to ignore that for now..
Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Radishes, or (Raphanus sativus) are a member of the brassica or mustard family, with famous relatives like broccoli, brussel sprouts, and - of course- mustard.
While we aren’t entirely sure they originated from since they didn’t really end up getting preserved or recorded anywhere we could definitively trace them to, scientists do think it was probably somewhere in southeastern asia, since it’s one of the only places that has truly wild radishes. From there, they started getting domesticated all over asia, until they crossed over all of russian and into the rest of europe, where people LOVED them so much they started taking them EVERYWHERE-kind of like the plant equivalent of tiny lap dogs, but way more useful (no offense to lap dogs)
They were so popular that they were not just some of the first documented staple crops in europe (right up there with potato, onion, and fava beans), but they were also recorded as the very first domesticated crop that colonizers planted upon arriving in the americas due to their quick growing cycle, dense punch of nutrients, and relative ease of growing.
Obviously , like most domesticated plants, we have about a MILLION varieties of radish. Some of super crunchy, some are extra spicy, and they come in a variety of unique colors, shapes and sizes. However, when most of us think of a rashish, we are thinking of those slightly pointed round roots with a deep reddish purple skin, white flesh, with a frsh crunch and a lightly peppery taste.
They really aren;t too picky, but prefer cooler temperatures with plenty of water. Some varieties can take as little as 3 weeks to harvest, which is really wild when you consider the parts that most of us are after are the starchy tap root.
And it wasn’t just old school farmers and peasants who were in to this fresh rooty-tooty crop…according to germanic legend, Lord of the mountain- also sometimes called Herr Johhans
Who also happens to kind of sort of be a demon depending on who you ask- fell madly in love with a princess.
Before we really dig in, I wanted to clarify that the lord of the mountain was also seen as a sort of trickster god. One could never be sure if we was going to be super friendly and teach us about medicine and give us sourdough, or if we was going to punk you so bad your great great grandkids would still feel the embarrassment.
Now onto the story. So, one day the lord of the mountain saw a princess and was basically like “Woah- that has got to be the coolest girl in the whole world- I am going to have to steal her away”...and then HE DID> And he kept this poor girl LOCKED in a room. But he also felt kinda bad, so to make it better he also filled the room with her favorite food- Radishes… which like, you just KNOW that room had to absolutely REEK, and that she deeply regretting picking radish and not like chocolate cake or something……but anyway, after a few months of sitting there, eating radishes and smelling her own farts, the princess got SUPER lonely, so the lord of the mountain turned one of her radishes into a cricket…seems like sort of a risky and fragile friend, but I was not consulted on this particular radish to friend pipeline.
The lord of the mountain warned the girl that as the radish leaves started to dry up, so too would like life of her beloved cricket. Not wanting to waste any time, the girl quickly told her entire story to the cricket, asking them to leap out of her window to find her a boyfriend.
Try as they might, the cricket didn’t quite make it to a point where it stumbled upon a gaggle of suitors before the radish leaves started to dry up. But they DID however, manage to tell all of the crickets in the area who managed to spread the word AND communicate it to a very handsome man who happened to be in the market for a wife.
So this man (and in my mind a powerful army of crickets capable of speaking german??) show up and rescue the princess and they all live happily after…except for the lord of the mountain who is left alone with a weird fart room, but honestly he kinda deserved that.
As it turns out, farts aren't the only parts of radishes that can repel things….according to a variety of different folk magics, Radishes were often used to keep evil spirits at bay. Often the radish tops could be made into a wreath or tossed out into the front garden to ward negative energy from the home. And some people even made radish green necklaces to keep evil and negative intentions away from the wearer..do you guys think we should bring that back? I feel like maybe we just aren’t getting freaky enough with botanical fashion anymore. And I am not saying it would solve all of our problems, but I am saying maybe one or two at least….
Speaking of using radishes in…..creative problem solving??? Men used to apparently try to use them to protect themselves from ‘The Chattering of Women” by feeding them radishes before bed…and to that I really say AS IF. As a woman who loves radishes and yapping, this is where I tell the men who listen to this show to abandon all hope, as women of today are simply immune to radishes and we will not be tamed. And also thank you for helping to support the fall of the patriarchy in a small way by listening to this podcast and supporting the chattering of women.
In other tales of men liking radishes, apparently they were also often given as an offering to Apollo, but, being apollo he needed them to have a bit of extra flair, so they were always very intricately carved and also sometimes golden. Love that for him.
This is very similar to a tradition in oaxaca called “the night of the radish” on dec 23 where artists carve a special variety of radish that have been bred to be much larger and easier to carve than the ones we typically eat- I will add some photos to our instagram so you can see!
Outside of art and offerings, Radishes are also commonly used in Medicine and herbalism. They were often used to treat stomach and intestinal disorders, bile duct problems, loss of appetite, pain and swelling (inflammation) of the mouth and throat, tendency towards infections, inflammation or excessive mucus of the respiratory tract, bronchitis, fever, colds, and cough.
In ayurvedic medicine radishes are regarded as a warming and revitalizing food, helping to restore energy in those who feel lethargic or stagnant.
Radishes are super high in vitamin C, and all parts of them are edible. They are obviously a super popular ingredient in cooking, as well as to add a flourish and crunch to some fresher dishes or rich dishes that need a little extra heat and crunch.
I am going to do us all a favor and not list all of the ways radishes are being used in food, but I did want to mention another use for specifically Daikon Radish, which is currently being used to help open up dense and heavy clay in rewilding processes because they can really break up that heavy soil and allow other roots to get in and start breaking up that soil and repairing it.
Next time you see a radish- either in a garden or in the store, I hope you’ll take a moment to say hello, and support your local women yapping. That’s all I’ve got for this week, but I’ll be back next week with another plant for us to dig into! See you then!
Sources:
https://marblecrowblog.com/2023/11/15/radish-folklore-magical-properties/
https://medium.com/wander-wonder-write/the-radish-a-history-rooted-in-ancient-times-2448e8020b72
https://harvesting-history.com/the-radish/
https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/spea
https://thepracticalherbalist.com/advanced-herbalism/radish-pocket-herbal/
