(rythmic Balkan band music)
- Hi, I'm Jerry James Stone, and welcome
to another What The Fork?!
Today, we're gonna talk about radishes,
and are they actually spicy?
Let's get to it.
Okay, so are radishes spicy?
Well, the answer is yes, but also, no.
Here's the reason why.
So, radishes are spicy, they have a bite to them,
but they're just not spicy in a way
that we typically classify spicy.
Think chili peppers, chili peppers have
a compound in them, that actually makes them spicy.
That's capsaicin.
So we have capsaicin which we actually classify
as the compound for spiciness.
That said, even though radishes don't have
that compound in them, they actually do have
a bite to them, but why?
So, before I get into that, lets talk a little bit
about what radishes actually do have in them.
They're high in potassium, vitamin C,
they have a lot of folic acid and also fiber.
So there's a lot of good things going on in there,
there's just not that capsaicin
that makes them actually spicy.
So, radishes are spicy when you bite into them,
but they're not spicy when you don't bite into them.
I know that sounds like a lot of double talk,
but just stay with me for a second,
I promise you, I'm gonna explain.
So as I mentioned, radishes don't have capsaicin.
So that's that compound that makes chili peppers,
like jalapenos, habaneros, that makes them spicy.
It's actually the same active compound
that they use in pepper spray.
So, for example, when you're cutting into jalapenos,
you're kind of slowly, almost pepper spraying
yourself a little bit.
If you've ever had your eyes water,
or you choke up a little bit from when
you're prepping chili peppers,
the reason for that is as you're prepping them,
that capsaicin, like that compound,
gets into the air, it's just around you,
so you kind of get exposure to that.
You don't get that with a radish, right.
Like, when you're actually prepping radishes,
that spiciness that exists within them
doesn't sort of have the same effect
as when prepping chili peppers.
And that's what I mean, so radishes are spicy
when you bite into them, but they're not spicy
when you're not biting into them.
And the reason for that is, there's not that compound
that's sort of filling the air,
and causing you to react.
But what is actually happening
when you bite into them?
Well, that's a great question.
So, why are radishes actually spicy
when you do bite into them?
Well, the first thing is, trapped within the radish,
is myrosinase.
So, myrosinase is this enzyme that's sort of
trapped and encased within the radish cells.
It's isolated, it just kind of hang out doing it's thing.
When you bite into it, because it's an enzyme,
it does what enzymes do.
Enzymes speed up the process
of breaking down chemicals and compounds.
That's what their whole, like, gist is.
When you bite into the radish the myrosinase
starts spilling out, and as a result
that enzyme comes into, it, like, comes into
contact with other compounds within the radish.
Specifically the glucosinolate.
That compound is sulfur-based, and the enzyme
starts breaking that down, forming a third compound.
So, when that enzyme comes into contact
with a sulfur-based compound,
it creates this third one, the allyl isothiocyanate.
That final compound is what's actually causing you
to have that reaction to biting into radishes.
It's sulfur-based, right, so it's created
from that sulfur-based compound,
and that particular by-product is what goes up
in your airways, causes your eyes to tear,
causes your nose to tingle, because that same compound
is actually what's found in other compounds
that are much, much worse.
So, it's similar, it's that same compound,
even though it doesn't exists organically
in a radish until those two interact,
it's found in mustard, it's found in horseradish,
and it's found in wasabi.
So, by biting into a radish, you actually create
that same sort of peppery compound.
But it's not just in those spicy ingredients
like mustard and horseradish as I was mentioning,
this compound, that final compound,
the allyl isothiocyanate, that compound
is actually found in various cruciferous vegetables,
at varying levels.
So it can be in kale, it can be in broccoli,
and it can be in Brussels sprouts.
In fact, it is, it's in all
of those actual vegetables too,
which is why they have a little bit
of a peppery taste to them.
Now you know why radishes are quote, unquote, spicy.
But not spicy in the conventional sense,
they're not spicy like a chili pepper,
because they don't have that capsaicin,
that's not in there, but they're actually spicy
for a completely different reason.
There is one other factor that does add to
the radishes' spiciness.
Size.
So, if you have larger radishes,
the bigger they get, the spicier they are.
So, that's another thing to keep in mind,
if you don't wanna have a spicy radish.
If you wanna get around having spicy radishes,
here's a little quick tip how to do that.
You can peel them, most of those compounds
exists in the peel, that will quickly remove
that spiciness and make them a lot more palatable,
if you're, you know, affected by spiciness.
I love spicy, that's just me.
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If there's something that you wanna know about,
drop a comment below, and if your like to cook
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I'll see you guys next time.
(rhythmic Balkan band music)