Radish China Rose

The quiet classic. China Rose is a Chinese radish introduced to European gardens in the nineteenth century and grown by Victorian head gardeners for its long white root with rose-pink skin. It has found a second life as one of the finest microgreens for elegant plating.

Where Rambo is dramatic, this is refined. The stems come blush-pink rather than deep purple, growing long and upright below vivid green leaves, and the pepper is gentler and more considered. Both are radishes, both are peppery — but they do different jobs on a plate, and serious kitchens keep both.

White root hairs are normal, not mould. Fine white hairs appear around the roots in the first few days and worry a lot of first-time growers. True mould is fuzzy, grey-green and smells wrong; root hairs are fine, white and attached directly to the roots. Mist gently rather than rinsing them away.