How Do You Store Radishes to Keep Them Fresh & Crisp Long Term?

Freshly picked radishes from the garden can quickly go soft if you don’t store them properly. To keep them fresh, I would recommend storing them in the fridge or in water as I’ve shown here.

Cut off the greens and place radishes in between layers of damp paper towels in a sealable plastic bag. Remove excess air from the plastic bag, seal put it in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator for 2-3weeks.

This method (as illustrated below) is great for keeping radishes fresh and crispy for up to a couple of weeks, but it is not the only way you can preserve them long term.

3 Best Ways to Store Radishes

You can store radishes in the fridge, water, or even in the freezer as illustrated below. The method you choose will depend on how and when you want to use them, or simply put, how long you want to keep them fresh.

After harvesting radishes, you’ll have the roots and the green parts. The part that you want to eat and store for later use is the roots although you can also eat the leaves. If not, the first thing you want to do is cut off the stems so that you remain with the roots.

The stems and leaves depend on the root for moisture, so leaving them on will continue to deplete moisture and nutrients in the roots. You might just end up with dehydrated radishes.

Let’s have a look at the different ways to store radishes and keep them fresh:

Refrigeration

When freshly harvested, radishes are crisp due to the high water content in them. Storing them in the refrigerator ensures the moisture levels are maintained for the preferred crunchy quality.

But how long will radishes keep in the refrigerator? Well, if stored properly under cool temperatures (which they love), they will remain in top quality and freshness for 10 to 14 days.

Here’s how to store radishes in the fridge:

Wash the radishes in the kitchen sink and dry them with paper towels.
Cut off the greens and the small root that extends from the swollen edible part.
Dampen a paper towel and lay it down inside a ziplock plastic bag.
Place a few radishes on top of the damp paper towel inside the bag.
Cover the radishes with another damp paper towel.
Add another layer of radishes on top of the covered ones.
Place another damp paper towel to cover the second layer of radishes.
Remove as much air from the plastic bag as you can using a straw and seal it off.
Store the bag with radishes in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.

Dampening the towels ensures the radishes have enough humidity. As they draw the moisture, they will remain fresh in the fridge for long. Make sure the paper towels are moist and not wet.

Here’s a quick video demonstrating how you can store radishes in the fridge:

Pro tip: Depending on how much harvest of radishes you have, you can stack them in bigger resealable plastic bags to preserve as many roots as possible. Every time you need some radishes, simply open up the bag, take a few of the radishes out, replace the damp paper towel on top, and reseal the bag to lock in the moisture.

Freezing cut radishes

Freezing is best for storing cut radishes. Since the roots have high water content, they may taste and feel different from fresh ones when frozen. The change in texture occurs because the water in the roots freezes into ice when stored in the freezer.

Select the best quality for freezing, as overly ripe roots will easily lose their taste and texture when frozen. Here’s a step-by-step procedure on how to freeze sliced radishes:

Wash the radishes with cold water.
Cut off the top greens and the bottom tap root.
Cut them into smaller pieces ready for freezing.
Blanch the cut pieces in boiling water for 2-3 minutes to help maintain color, texture, and flavor.
Put the sliced radishes in ice-cold water and then drain properly.
Place the radish slices in freezer bags.
Store the bags in the freezer.

Important: If you freeze whole radishes, the hard outer skin will split open and cause more textural defects. This happens because the water content in the roots expands as it freezes into ice.

Store radishes in water

You can keep radishes fresh in water and ensure they’re cool for a couple of days. As soon as you harvest radishes, you might have a plan to eat them within a week.

The best way to keep radishes fresh for about 7 days is to store them in water. Here’s how to do it:

Take a bowl or plastic container and fill it with about 2-5 inches of water. Put the roots in the water so that the radishes look like they are growing out from the water. Place the container in your pantry at room temperature. This will keep the roots crispy and the greens fresh for about 7 days.

If the water starts to deplete, refill the container with fresh water. Radishes will suck up the water quite fast so keep checking on them.

When storing radishes in water, you can also put the bowl in the fridge to prolong their freshness and prevent wilting.

How to Keep Radish Leaves Fresh

Most people cut off and throw away radish greens without knowing they can actually eat them. You can chop them up and eat them in a salad, make pasta, soups, etc.

To store radish leaves and keep them fresh, simply put them in a plastic bag and keep them in the crisper drawer of your fridge. They will only last for a few days (2-3 days) because they no longer have the roots to provide them with water and nutrients.

How long do radishes last

The shelf-life of radishes will depend on the storage method. Freezing is definitely the best long term option, but your fridge should be able to get you a few weeks of preservation as well.

When stored in the fridge, radishes will last up to 14 days (2 weeks).
Frozen radishes can stay in the freezer for up to 6 months without going bad.
If you decide to put them on the counter at room temperature, you should only keep them for 2 to 3 days.
Pickled or canned radishes can stay fresh in the refrigerator for as long as 6 months. However, you’ll want to eat them within 3 months before they start losing their crunchiness and flavor.

In some cases, you may be able to prolong their freshness for a week more than the 14 days in the crisper drawer of your fridge, but that might compromise their quality.

If you’re growing radishes in your backyard, remember to pick them on time. Normally, American radishes will be ready for harvest about 4 weeks after planting.

If you leave them to stay longer, the radishes will burst open and bugs will soon start to eat them. I would recommend you harvest them at 4 weeks so that you get the best taste as well as crispiness.

References

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