treatment that minimizes their pungency (the
enzyme is inactivated) and brings out their
sweetness.
An unusual radish species, R. caudatus, is
known as the “rat-tailed radish” because it
bears long edible seedpods.
The Onion Family: Onions, Garlic, Leeks
There are around 500 species in the genus
Allium, a group of plants in the lily family
that are native to northern temperate regions.
About 20 are important human foods, and a
handful have been prized for thousands of
years, as is attested by the well-known lament
of the exiled Israelites in the Old Testament:
“We remember the fish, which we did eat in
Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons,
and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic.”
Onions, garlic, and most of their relatives are
grown primarily for their underground bulbs,
which are made up of swollen leaf bases or