[Photo credit: Martin Kozák/Wikimedia Commons]

Radishes are available in many varieties and colors, but perhaps the most iconic radish is the Cherry Belle, with a snappy fuchsia hide and crisp white interior. With their short cultivation time, they're a quickly gratifying addition to a summer garden. Once dug up and washed, their bright colors make for a dramatic, peppery addition to a salad.

The upsides of munching on a radish include a healthy dose of folic acid, potassium, and ascorbic acid, plus plenty of vitamin B6. They're also low in calories—one cup of sliced radishes yields a mere 20. The leaves are edible, and the root is usually eaten raw. When buying radishes, look for uniformly shaped and colored specimens with firm bulbs. Use within one week.

Recipes

• Scallion, Radish, and Cucumber Salad with Cashews and Vermicelli
• Radish Tortilla
• Recipe for Tomato, Cucumber, and Radish Salad with Yogurt and Tahini Dressing
• White Radish Rose Decoration
• Watermelon radish salad
• Jicama, orange, and radish salad

How do you use radishes?