RADISHES AND THEIR PREPARATION
98. RADISHES are a root vegetable used almost exclusively as a relish or to lend flavor to a vegetable-salad mixture. They are easily and successfully grown and are plentiful and cheap, except when they are out of season and must be raised in hothouses. Numerous varieties of radishes differing from one another in size, shape, and color are raised. The red ones are generally preferred, because they lend color to a dish or a meal, but the white and brown varieties are just as desirable so far as flavor is concerned.
99. Radishes contain very little food value, being about equal to celery and cucumbers in this respect. They do not supply anything valuable to a meal except mineral salts. Although some persons consider radishes difficult to digest, they contain almost nothing that has to be digested, for they are composed largely of cellulose, which does not digest, and water. Radishes disagree with some persons because, like onions and cabbage, they contain a strong volatile oil that gives them their flavor.
100. Since radishes are always eaten raw, they require very little in the way of preparation. The principal thing is to see that they are perfectly clean and as crisp as possible. To make them crisp, allow them to stand in cold water for some time before using them. Then remove the tops and the roots and scrub thoroughly with a vegetable brush. The small red radishes can be made very attractive by cutting the skin in sections to resemble the petals of a rose. When prepared in this way, a small portion of the green top is allowed to remain.