Sugar Free Spicy Pickled Radishes:

I had a lot of leftover rashishes recently and thought I would experiment with a sugar free pickling recipe. What I like about pickling fresh vegetables in the summer is that it can help extend their shelf life, makes great additions to salads and meals, and my favorite is the ability to enjoy some guilt free snacking! Pickling is fairly straight forward too. I kept this recipe seriously simple because no one has time for an extensive canning tutorial. You can easily make this in a matter of minutes. So without further ado, check the end of the post for the full recipe for these Sugar Free Spicy Pickled Radishes and read on for a few teacher tips and tricks. 

“School” Supplies:

-Jar/ Container for Storing

-Small Pot

-Whisk

-Knife and Cutting Board

-Measuring Cups

“Class” Notes:

Preparation:

Pickling is straightforward. The first thing to do is to slice your vegetables (in this case the radishes). I sliced them as thin as possible with my chef’s knife. I do have a mandolin. The benefits of using a mandoline are the perfectly sliced pieces that are all the same width. The downsides are that it is a little dangerous so…safety first please! If you chose to slice with a knife, I will let you in on a few tips I often share with my students. The first thing you would want to do is to stabilize whatever you are cutting. For example, a radish is round and will wobble and roll as you grip it and slice it. This can obviously make for a potentially treacherous slicing situation. I highly suggest slicing a small amount from the bottom of the radish to create a flat and more stable surface. Be sure to keep those fingers tucked in too! Ok, my teacher-mom moment is over so let’s continue.

Pickling:

Once your radishes are all sliced, add them to a jar or container. You will be fully submerging the radishes, so pick something that fits the size and amount of your vegetables you have prepared. I used an 8 oz glass jar for mine.  I opted to add sliced jalapenos (seeds included) to create a spicer flavor profile to my pickled radishes. You can even eat these too! In addition, you can also add any fresh herbs or garlic as well. To start the pickling process, I added equal parts water and apple cider vinegar to a pot till it was heated all the way through.  Add the salt and peppercorns in and stir briefly. Pour the hot water/vinegar mixture over the vegetables till they are fully covered. Allow them to sit out until the jar is almost rom temperature. Refrigerate for 24 hours or so. If you leave the vegetables in the jar to sit with the jalapenos it will continue to get spicier over time (just a heads up). I absolutely adore these pickled radishes on salads, with a steak, or even as a garnish with you favorite tacos!

Find the complete recipe for these Sugar Free Spicy Pickled Radishes below!

Bon Appeteach,

-L