Night of the Radishes
European Radishes
Tonight is known in Mexico as the Night of the Radishes.
The festivities associated with this event have been celebrated since 1897 in the main square of the city of Oaxaca and is usually attended by several thousand people. and has been described as one of the impressive Vegetable Festivals around the world.
Craftsmen carve giant root vegetables into figures – human and other forms, nativity scenes, party scenes and so on … sometimes involving a wide variety of many different figures – which include other materials as well, such as dried flowers and corn husks.
It’s all part of a competition which is often accompanied by parades, fireworks, displays and street dances over the next couple of days in the lead up to Christmas. The prize? – the winner gets their photograph published in the local newspaper.
The radishes are grown specially for this event, left in the ground after the normal harvest in order to grow to a massive size, (reaching up to 3 kilograms in weight and 50 centimeters long), and unusual shapes.
When I first came to Kyrgyzstan I was watching someone prepare a meal and asked what the ingredients were that they were using. I was a bit surprised when I was told that the large white root vegetable which looked to me like a Turnip, (to which it is related but this wasn’t quite the same … and, to be honest, I don’t think I have ever seen here in Kyrgyzstan), was called a rediska … radish. Up until then I had always thought of radishes as a salad vegetable, small, round and red, (often bright red), although underneath the red skin it was a bright white.
It is relatively easy to grow and can sprout in a little as just a few days … indeed the “scientific” name is derived from Greek raphanus, which mean “quickly appearing” … and reach maturity in a few weeks.
For the record: the common name is much more mundane and comes from the Latin radix, which means “root”.
It was, and presumably still is, the sort of plant which are given to children to encourage them to take an interest in gardening. I know that I was given some for my “patch” of the garden when I was child.
They have a long history, having been domesticated and cultivated in Europe in pre-Roman times, but they are to be found all over the world and used in many cuisines.
It grows well in direct sunlight and most types of soil although sandy loams are perhaps preferred as they facilitate the growth of root systems. They are liked by farmers as they can help minimize the impact of a variety of pests which attack the leaves – whilst leaving the root crop undamaged.
To be honest, I hadn’t realised, however, that there are many different varieties – in shape, size and colour. The small red variety is sometimes known as the European Radish, (or Spring Radish), and is a favourite eaten raw in salads, either whole or cut into thin slices. Unless it has been left in the ground for a long time, it has a slightly sweet taste.
Laghman
There are other varieties – the Black or Spanish Radish, with – believe it or not – a black skin. Here in Asia, although red radishes are to be found, the most forms are the the White Radishes like Daikon – with larger, longer white roots … and tend to be more spicy than their European relatives. They are used as an ingredient in a number of Central Asian dishes such as Laghman, and Shorpo and Jarkop
About seven million tons of radish are harvested worldwide each year, which accounts for about 2% of the world’s vegetable crops, but I am not sure that it is a major commercial crop.
I do know people grow it at home in their gardens and dachas, and I am aware that a number of agricultural projects have attempted to help farmers in remote mountain rural regions, (such as at Sary Mogul in the Chon Alai region of Southern Kyrgyzstan), to take advantage of new technology and techniques to diversify their crops and increase yields.
On the other hand, radishes are readily available in markets throughout the year and throughtout the country, so I presume that someone, somewhere must be growing it … I just can’t find figures anywhere.
Anyway … Happy Night of the Radishes!
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Bishkek