Pickled Radishes

I have decided that I will try my hand at pickled radishes.  While I would like to figure out the roasted radish recipe (try that ten times quickly), everything I read talks about pickling them to preserve.

I used the Ball book recipe for "End of the Garden Pickles."  Other than the straight canning recipe for turnips, it seemed the closest fit.  And it was made with apple cider vinegar, which was the way I wanted to do it. 

I started by washing and topping all of the radishes.  Most of my radishes were at least the size of a golf ball, but I suppose you could use smaller ones just fine.  Once they were washed and topped, I sliced them all into quarter inch slices.  I think it's helpful to slice them as the seasonings soak into the whole radish.  But I suppose you could pickle them whole.

 

Radishes in the pickling brine.

I measured the amount of radishes I cut by putting them into the number of pint jars I planned to use.  I have a nearly unending supply of radishes at the moment, so I didn't have to really plan ahead for an amount.  If I had to guess, I would say between two and three bunches per pint.

 

I then combined 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons dry mustard, 2 tablespoons mustard seed, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ginger, and 3 cups apple cider vinegar in a large pot.  I brought the whole thing to a boil and added the radishes.  The smell was pretty strong, but I liked it.  Of course the kids thought it smelled horrible.  In fact, they broke out gas masks and feined death by asfixiation...now I know what to make when they're being bad.

 

I brought it back up to a boil, then dropped the heat to a simmer and cooked it for 15 minutes.  I stirred every once in awhile just to make sure that all of the radishes got a chance in the brine, but the recipe doesn't say it's necessary.  I also prepared the jars and lids while it was simmering.

 

Once the time was up, I packed the radishes into jars and added enough liquid to leave a 1/2-inch of headspace.  I put it into a hot water bath and processed my pint jars for 15 minutes. 

*UPDATE*  My pickled radishes won second place in the Deschutes County Fair!