Pickled Radishes

Adapted from Kind Diet

Ingredients

8-10 radishes-thinly sliced

3/4 cup ume plum vinegar

1 1/2 cups water

Directions

1. Place the sliced radishes in a Mason jar

2. Cover the radishes with the vinegar and water

3. Place cheesecloth over the top of the jar and secure with a rubber band

4. Allow to sit at room temperature for 3 days and then refrigerate

5. The pickles can be eaten after 24 hours. Make sure to refrigerate after 3 days because they will start fermenting and leave an undesirable taste. They will become more salty as time goes by, so rinse the pickles off before you eat them if they are too salty for you.

I saw this recipe when I was going through my Kind Diet book and thought that it looked like a fun recipe to try out and since I just bought some fresh radishes at the farmer's market it was perfect. The book stressed the importance of eating pickled foods because of their essential digestive enzymes. They recommended eating about 1 tablespoon of these pickles a day. I do have to clarify that they don't mean the typical pickles you buy from the store, but raw naturally fermented pickles. However, I have seen naturally fermented products at the Co-op. The cultures & enzymes in raw naturally fermented pickles are known to support proper digestion, aid in nutrient absorption, contribute to healthy metabolic function, and inhibit harmful microbes in the intestinal system. I don't even like radishes, but I love them when they are pickled! The ume plum vinegar is pretty salty, so you only want to eat a couple a day, even though I'd love to eat more. The pickles will stay fresh in the refrigerator for a good 10 days. The recipe is so simple to make, so it's easy to always have these on hand on the refrigerator.