Daikon

In culinary contexts, daikon (Japanese: 大根, lit. 'big root') or daikon radish are the most common names in all forms of English. Historical ties to South Asia permit mooli (Hindi: मूली, romanized: mūlī) as a general synonym in English.[6][7] The generic terms white radish, winter radish, Oriental radish,[8] long white radish, and other terms are also used. Other synonyms usually vary by region or describe regional varieties of the vegetable. When it is necessary to distinguish the usual Japanese form from others, it is sometimes known as Japanese radish.[9][10]

The vegetable's Chinese names are still uncommon in English. In most forms of Chinese cuisine, it is usually known as bái luóbo (Chinese white radish).[9] Although in Cantonese and Malaysian cuisine, it is encountered as lobak or lo pak, which are Cantonese pronunciations of the general Chinese term for "radish" or "carrot" (蘿蔔). In the cuisines of Hokkien and Teochew-speaking areas such as Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan, it is also known as chai tow or chai tau (菜頭). Any of these may be referred to as "radish," with the regional variety implied by context. In English-speaking countries, it is also sometimes marketed as icicle radish.

In mainland China and Singapore, the calque white carrot or misnomer carrot is sometimes used, owing to the similarity of the vegetables' names in Mandarin and Hokkien. This variant inspired the title for a popular guidebook on Singaporean street food, There's No Carrot in Carrot Cake, which refers to chai tow kway, a kind of cake made from daikon.[11]

In North America, it is primarily grown not for food but as a fallow crop, with the roots left unharvested to prevent soil compaction; the leaves (if harvested) are used as animal fodder.[12] The official general name used by the United States Department of Agriculture is oilseed radish, but this is only used in non-culinary contexts. Other English terms employed when daikon is used as animal feed or as a soil ripper are "forage radish", "fodder radish", and "tillage radish".[12][13]

In Hong Kong, the misnomer turnip is also used. This name lends its name to the dish "turnip cake."[14]

Varieties of Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus from the Seikei Zusetsu agricultural-encyclopedia

Several nonwhite varieties occur. The Cantonese lobak, lo pak, etc., sometimes refer to the usual Chinese form but is also applied to a form of daikon with a light green coloration of the top area of the root around the leaves. The Korean radish, also called mu, has a similar pale green shade halfway down from the top and are generally shorter, stouter, and sturdier, with denser flesh and softer leaves. Both are often spicier than the long white radishes.

The heirloom watermelon radish is another Chinese variety of daikon with a dull green exterior but a bright rose or fuchsia-colored center. Its Chinese name (t 心裡美蘿蔔, s 心里美萝卜, xīnlǐměi luóbó) is sometimes irregularly romanized as the shinrimei radish and sometimes translated as the "beauty heart," "beautiful heart inside," or "roseheart" radish.

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  A radish growing in China
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  Sakurajima radishes
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  Sliced watermelon radish
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  Professor Vladimir Zuev displays a new daikon variety Kuz hadyasi in Uzbekistan

White radish seeds

The Chinese and Indian varieties tolerate higher temperatures than the Japanese ones. These varieties also grow well at lower elevations in East Africa. If moisture is abundant, it can grow quickly; otherwise, the flesh becomes overly tough and pungent.[15] The variety Long White Icicle is available as seed in Britain and will grow very successfully in Southern England, producing roots resembling a parsnip by midsummer in good garden soil in an average year.

The roots can be stored for weeks without the leaves if lifted and kept in a cool, dry place. If left in the ground, the texture tends to become woody, but the storage life of whole untreated roots is not long.

Certain varieties of daikon can be grown as a winter cover crop and green manure. These varieties are often named "tillage radish" because the plant grows a huge, penetrating root that effectively performs deep cultivation. The roots bring nutrients lower in the soil profile up into the higher reaches and are good nutrient scavengers, so they are good partners with legumes instead of grasses; if harsh winters occur, the root will decompose while in the soil, releasing early nitrogen stores in the spring.

Tillage radish leaves behind a cavity in the soil when the large tap root decays, making it easier for the following year's crops, such as potatoes, to bore deeper into the soil. Potatoes grown in a rotation with tillage radish do not experience growth restrictions associated with having a shallow hardpan soil, as the tillage radish can break the hardpan, making the transfer of water and other important nutrients much easier for the root system.[27]

Nutrient retention is another important feature of tillage radish. The large tap root is used to retain macro- and micro-nutrients that would otherwise have the potential to be lost to leaching during the time when the field would otherwise be left empty. The nutrients from the root become readily available for the following year's crop upon the decay of the radish, which can boost yields and reduce fertilizer costs.[27]

Daikons are also used as a forage worldwide. As a forage, they also have the side benefit of weed suppression. Although used elsewhere for much longer, daikon as a forage is a recent introduction in Massachusetts field practice.[28]

Daikon is used in preparing metal surfaces for chemical patination, for example, under the Rokushō process.[29]

• Radish
• Chonggak radish
• Gegeol radish
• Korean radish
• Sakurajima radish
• Takuan
• Nanakusa-no-sekku and Jinjitsu
• Japanese radish

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Daikon.

• Asian Radish at NutritionData.com