Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Meditation on a Black Radish

Black Radish

The black radish, with its rough thick outer shell and pure white pungent bitter interior, is the dark horse of the radish universe. Cultivated by farmers since the days of ancient Egypt, Raphanis sativus var. sativus tolerates extremes of climate, grows to a generous size and contains considerable quantities of vitamin C.

 I am told that the black radish, which stores very well, was a staple food for my Eastern European ancestors during long cold winters when few fresh vegetables were available. It was peeled and sliced and eaten with raw onion, salt and heavy dark sourdough rye bread. In France it is known as "Gros noir d'hiver",  or "large black of winter".



                                             black radish
                                             your rhino hide shell
                                             protects a bitter snowy core
                                             from which the lovely
                                             green shoots spring