Pickled Pink Experiment

Because they are so bright and cheerful, and because they have a crisp juicy zing, I keep buying radishes. I use three or four of them in a salad, then put the rest in the refrigerator to save for later use. Within days, they degenerate into a wrinkled, saggy unappetizing mess, so I throw them away and then days later start the cycle again. This pattern gives me twinges of guilt every time I head to the trashcan with my lumpy brownish radishes, and so today I’ve decided to put a halt to the waste. This afternoon when I opened the fridge, there sat the radishes I bought two days ago, already losing their luster, already showing signs of the wrinkles to come. Determined to avoid the shameful trashcan walk, I pulled the radishes out, cut them into slices slightly larger than matchsticks, and put them in a Tupperware container. I gathered together sugar, salt, black pepper, coriander seeds, and two types of vinegar—cider and red wine, stirred everything together until I was happy with the flavor, and then poured the mixture over the sliced radishes. The radishes are pickling in the refrigerator, and later this evening I’ll do a taste test with my friend. Hopefully I’ll have managed to avoid yet another walk of shame.