Discussion

Root Vegetables

A trait that all three painting subjects this week--horseradish, turnip, and radish--have in common is that they are all edible root vegetables. In this, they are classed along with many other familiar foods like onion, garlic, ginger, yam, potato, beet, carrot, parsnip, and many others. Here is a chart showing a few root vegetables with pictures.

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)

This plant was originally native to southeastern Europe and western Asia but is now grown worldwide. As can be seen in the photo, the horseradish plant is large, growing as much as 5 feet tall with leaves that can be 3 feet long. It grows vigorously and can become invasive if not kept in check.

ts blossoms have 4 petals and grow in panicles (clumps).

Horseradish is grown for an enlarged root that when mashed, produces a distinct, sharp flavor that makes it useful as a condiment with certain kinds of foods. It is the physical cutting and/or mashing of the horseradish that releases the chemical that produces the taste. The taste and aroma fades soon if the horseradish isn't preserved in vinegar and refrigerated. It can remain potent for up to three months if stored properly.

Turnip (Brassica rapa)

Every part of the turnip plant is edible and nutritious, though people mostly think only of the bulb when they think of turnips.

The leaves and roots are usually trimmed off for store sales, however, leaving only the bulbs for customers.

Turnips have flowers, too.

When growing, the top part of the turnip bulb typically emerges from the ground. In some turnip species, the part of the bulb above the surface turns a reddish color. Not in this photo, however.

Turnips are closely related to daikon, a common vegetable in Japanese cuisine.

There are many ways to prepare turnips for consumption. The greens can be boiled like spinach. The bulbs can likewise be boiled similar to the way potatoes are sometimes boiled. When thinly sliced and fried with a little oil and a pinch of salt, you can make turnip chips. Turnips go well when mashed with potatoes. Here is a recipe.

Radish (Raphanus raphanistrum)

Radishes are closely related to the horseradish and have some of the same chemical that produces the sharp taste of the horseradish. Originating in southeast Asia, the radish, like the horseradish, is grown worldwide today.

The radish is one of the easiest plants to grow and is a favorite of budding farmers.

Like the turnip and horseradish, the radish has flowers. Flowers from wild radishes are in this photo.

Radishes are mostly eaten raw as a garnish in salads.

Here is another kind of radish flower

Artwork

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 – 1849)

Hokusai is known worldwide for his ukiyo-e landscapes, especially his Great Wave Off Kanagawa. Besides designing ukiyo-e, he produced a prodigious number of other paintings in his long career. The following sketch depicts Daikoku, (God of Luck), with Radish. The date is uncertain, and it looks more like a daikon, a radish relative.

Kōno Bairei (1844 – 1895)

A member of the Maruyama-Shijo school of art, Bairei specialized in kachō-ga, birds and flowers pictures, though he also did some landscapes. This is his turnip.

Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847 – 1915)

Kiyochika was a leading artist in the movement to adopt western styles of art after the return of the Emperor to power in 1868. Though he continued to produce ukiyo-e, the popularity of which was rapidly fading, he helped to pictorially document the changes occurring in Japan with prints of red brick buildings and trains. His prints depicting events of the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 were popular.

The ukiyo-e below titled White Radish and Horse is part of his 1884 series, One Hundred Views of Musashi.