I got a question from one of my readers. She was wondering if I have any tips on how to pick a fresh white radish(Mu-무). Let’s see how I pick it at the market. I go to the white radish corner and stare around to see if there is a cute looking radish. Cute looking radish!?
What kind of method is that? I don’t know when that idea stuck in my mind, or maybe I read it somewhere that small radishes without any bruises or scars taste good.
To answer her question properly, I researched a little bit.
What is considered as a fresh and delicious radish
- Evenly sized with clean and smooth surface (no bumps on the surface if possible).
- Have as white skin as possible (it doesn’t taste as nice if it is darkish).
- Heavy radish
- Have as little green part near the head as possible, because green means it got too much sun so it doesn’t taste as nice.
- Cut one leaf. If its inside section is green and fresh it is a good one, if it is whitish is bad.
The picture below is the white radish I bought about a month ago. By the description above, I bought a bad radish. I thought it tasted nice though. 
How to store a white radish
- Cut the leaves off and wrap it with news papers then keep it in the fridge. (The leafy part should face downwards).
So the conclusion is that I was partially right about picking a cute looking radish. 
If you have your own way of choosing it, do tell me. I would like to know. 
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Dave,
I am so jealous. I would love to grow some vegetables in my back yard one day too. I hope you made a nice pickle with it.
Thanks for the tips! I grew my own and picked one today to pickle (hence my search ends here) It is not heavy! The outside looks great, but the inside is tough and has holes and “pithy”
Ill still try to make it!
Cheers
Dave
Hi Doku,
Haha, I didn’t realize “how to pick a right radish” is a big deal before I posted this. However it is one of my top posts people want to read!
I am very surprised.
All this fuss over a radish. LOL – I’m just teasing. Actually, I learned a lot from everyone’s posts. Thanks for all the information! ~ Just in case you guys are able to, or are interested in growing your own radishes & other vegetables, there’s a good place to purchase them here (if you’re in the US):
http://www.kitazawaseed.com/
and also, a good place to purchase pepper seeds:
http://www.chillifarm.com/
^ these folks are in south africa, but they ship worldwide.
best wishes,
~ Doku/ë„ì¿
Other types of paper don’t pass moisture as well. If you use paper towels, they absorb and store moisture which leaves the radish surface spongy. Paper sacks usually do not mold to the radish as well which allows them to dry out faster. Newspaper-like material seems to hold just the right amount of moisture to keep the radish fresh longer.
Thanks everyone for sharing your ideas.
The radish from the picture is the most common white radish in Korea and unfortunately most of them seemed to very green near the head.
As simcooks said I often confuse if it is relatively heavy or not.
Also, as Equinox said, it is known as a detoxifier that is why it is often used with Japanese sashimi to kill potential bacteria, and it also helps digestion.
Wow, what a quick response to my question! Thanks and also for mentioning proper storage. I wonder why newspapers are used? I guess that’s one way of recycling it.
The radish I buy looks more like a big fat white carrot. Haven’t seen Korean ones before. I also pick those with no bruises and heavy for its size, although sometimes I cannot really tell if one radish is heavier than the other, for a similar size.
I usually try to pick white ones with little to no green coloring and not too many dimples in them.
I may not know a better way of selecting a good radish but I know radish is good for health. Though I don’t quite like the smell of radish, I still eat it for its medicinal value. Radish is known to be a very good “detoxifier”. It cleanses the body of “harmful” chemicals like food preservatives and additives.
Hmmm this looks very different from the radish that i usually buy. My radish is longer, and all white.
I have seen this kind of radish in korean supermarket and i thought they were not radish.