Canning Honey Pickled Radishes
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If you love pickles, you’re going to love these honey pickled radishes! If you’re on the fence about radishes, these honey pickled radishes are going to win you over, I promise.
Wishing for Radishes
In fact, if this were a normal gardening year for me, I would have planted boat loads of radishes. At this very moment, I would be on the brink of an amazing radish harvest.
I would be poised, ready to can all kinds of honey pickled radishes.
Last year’s supply of honey pickled radishes ended way too soon and I was determined to put up even more this year. And then we bought a farm. Right when I should have been getting my spring garden ready. Sigh.
Too Late to Plant?
There are no gardens on our new property, so Mr. Native Texan is working feverishly to build raised wooden boxes and fill them with all kinds of organic materials. Biomass, as Joel Salatin would say. I’m afraid it might be too late to plant radishes this year, but I might try it anyway.
The last full moon of May is late this year, on the 30th. I’m hoping that will buy me a little extra time to get my early garden seeds in. What do you think?
Find some Radishes
At any rate, whether you’re expecting an amazing radish harvest or not, you could always buy them at the farmer’s market. Or maybe you’ll find them in your CSA box! Grocery store radishes are a last resort, but I suppose those would work too.
Whatever your source, when you’ve secured a good supply of fresh radishes, you’ll definitely want to make these honey pickled radishes.
Tuna Stackers with Honey Pickled Radishes
They are fantastic on any sandwich, but I especially love them with tuna salad. My favorite is little tuna stackers made with these dehydrator crackers, homegrown lettuce, and honey pickled radishes.
This combo is also delicious on almond toast made from my favorite Almond Butter Bread, as pictured below.
Now every time I eat tuna without honey pickled radishes, it feels like something is missing.
Sugar-Free Canning
I know it’s kind of obvious from the word “honey” in the name of these honey pickled radishes, but I also wanted to point out that this recipe calls for honey and not sugar. I’ve been on the hunt for awesome sugar-free canning recipes, and this one definitely fits the bill!
Enjoy, friends!
And here’s a video demonstration of the entire canning process for this recipe. Can’t see the video? Click here to watch.
PrintCanning Honey Pickled Radishes
- Yield: 6-8 half pint jars 1x
Ingredients
- 2 pounds radishes (without tops & roots)
- 2.5 cups water
- 2 tablespoons unrefined sea salt
- 1.5 cups water
- 1.25 cups vinegar
- 3/4 cup raw local honey
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons peppercorns
Instructions
- Thinly slice radishes with mandoline slicer.
- Add sliced radishes to large glass or stainless steel bowl with 2.5 cups water and 2 tablespoons salt. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours.
- Sterilize 6-8 half pint canning jars.
- Drain radishes and rinse, then set aside.
- Combine 1.5 cup water, vinegar, honey, red wine vinegar, and peppercorns in a medium saucepan over high heat.
- Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce heat, cover, and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Pack radishes into hot, clean half pint jars.
- Add hot vinegar mixture, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
- Make sure some peppercorns get into each jar.
- Wipe jar rims and adjust lids.
- Process filled jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.
- Discard any leftover vinegar mixture. I recommend tossing it in the compost pile!
Notes
- Click here to shop my favorite kitchen tools and real food ingredients.
- Click here to save 15% off my favorite, healthy brand of salt. Use code KEEPITREAL
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How long will these stay good? A year on a dark cool shelf? Thanks!
Mine have never lasted a year because I eat them up before then, but I wouldn’t hesitate to store them for a year. Enjoy!
Can you eat right away? Is there a way to just make a big batch but not do the water bath method? I’d just like to make one big jar to put in fridge. Is that possible?
Yes! I heard from an Instagram follower who did just that. I haven’t tried it, but she said it worked well. You can read her comment here.
The 1.25 c vinegar…is this just plain white distilled vinegar?
Hi Rachel, yes, plain white vinegar.
Thank you! I have another question. I am looking at the Ball Blue Book (I am new to canning) and it says that radishes are a low acid food so they need to be pressure canned in order to safely preserve. I am just trying to educate myself. What makes this recipe safe since it uses a water bath canner instead?
The vinegar makes it safe. 🙂
Thank you!!
Could I add onions to recipe? I don’t have quite enough radishes, could us onions to get to 2 pounds?
I’ve never tried that, Carissa, and am always a little hesitant to tweak recipes for canning.
Hello,
Will I need to adjust the canning time based on elevation? I live close to 5,000 feet and wanted to make sure I canned them correctly. Thanks!
Hmmm, I have zero experience with high-altitude canning, but I did find this chart that should be helpful for you.
Can they be canned whole? Thank you, Deborah
That’s a great question! I’ve never canned them whole, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work, Deborah. Let us know if you try it!
I would like to add some mustard seeds along with the peppercorns do you not recommend that..
I’ve never tried that, and am always cautious when it comes to altering canning recipes. However, my research indicates that “small amounts of other dry spices should not affect the established safety factors provided they do not alter the “thickness” of the food.” See this article for more details.
I opened our first jar of these and the smell awful! It’s a super strong sulphur smell. Is this normal?
Hmmm, a strong vinegar smell is normal. But if it smells “off” to you, it’s best to play it safe and toss. I wish I could be there to smell it for you!
Could I add maple syrup instead of honey? We do our own maple syrup and we would like to try that.
Jennifer