Earlier this spring, I reviewed several radishes that I was growing and let you know I would provide information about another variety in the future.
Well that day has come, and I want to let you know about a little known, and little grown radish of extraordinary beauty. Originally from China, the Shinrimei goes by a variety of names in the West including: Watermelon Radish, Roseheart, Red Meat and Chinese radish. What makes these radishes unique is their color -- green white on the outside and red on the inside. They also are much larger than traditional radishes.
I planted these radishes earlier this year and waited to see what would happen. Unfortunately, the company from which I purchased the seeds, neglected to mention that they are a Winter radish. Not knowing this, I planted them in the spring and was surprised by their slow maturation. (Normally, a spring radish takes about 25 days to mature. But a winter radish takes at least twice that amount of time.)
As fate would have it, we are having a very cool spring this year and our nights are normally cool anyway, so these Shinrimei radishes did well in spite of the fact that they are grown out of season.
I harvested them when they were 1.5 inches in diameter but they can grow to over 3 inches (Not a typo - these radishes grow so large they look like small beets)
Others that have planted this type of radish have commented that they are quite sweet (particularly as they grow larger) but out of season, I found them to be rather the opposite. In fact, they were too hot for my tastes as a raw vegetable, so I pickled them using the recipe I posted earlier this year. This tamed their flavor and made them much more palatable. While seasonal issues may also be to blame, I also found this variety of radish to be a very tough, particularly the outer layers of the radish.
I'm going to try Shinrimei radishes again this fall before making a final judgment on them. For now, what I can say with certainty is that they are unquestionably beautiful to look at.
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