Vegetables for Breakfast

Posted by Jamie McIntosh Sep 8, 2008

I was laughing today as I recounted a conversation I had with a friend about my attempts to grow (and even more laborious attempts to eat) the vegetable optimistically named ‘French Breakfast’ radish. Ever since I confused a plump red radish with a cherry at the age of 3, I have despised this spicy root vegetable. However, when I was a new vegetable gardener, it seemed mandatory to include this easy to grow vegetable in my garden. Who can resist something that matures in less than 30 days? More importantly, who can resist a vegetable variety called ‘French Breakfast?’

How clever was the person who named this radish variety. Did he or she imagine the cognitive dissonance one would experience in trying to reconcile a name that more aptly describes a tender croissant with a vegetable that requires one to immediately down a large bag of M&M’s just to remove the vile taste?

I haven’t been fooled into wasting valuable garden space on vegetables I don’t like since the radish episode, but I think the person that coined ‘French Breakfast’ is on to something. Would my three sons be more willing to try ‘Chocolate Truffle’ tomatoes on their turkey sandwiches? How about ‘Peach Pie’ parsnips, or ‘Oatmeal Cookie’ cauliflower? If it works, I’ll see you in line at the trademark office.