White Radish

Long white daikon radish. Much milder than the small red kind — juicy and faintly peppery rather than hot, which is why it can be eaten in quantity.

Grated into mooli paratha, cut into a sambar or a dal, pickled into the pink or yellow radish that comes with a Korean or Japanese meal, or simply sliced raw with salt as a side. The leaves, if they arrive attached, are edible and good cooked like spinach.

Choose a firm root with smooth, unblemished white skin and no cracks. Give it a gentle bend — it should not flex at all. Cracks and flex both mean it has lost water and turned pithy inside.

Fridge. Cut the leaves off first if it came with them, or they will pull moisture out of the root within a day.

Wrap it loosely rather than sealing it, because daikon in a closed bag develops a strong smell that transfers to everything nearby.

One to two weeks refrigerated.