Daikon

How to serve daikon by age

6 months+

Soft-cooked sticks or mashed daikon

Peel the daikon, cut it into finger-sized sticks and simmer or steam until very soft. Offer the soft sticks as finger food, or mash them into potato or another food your baby already eats. Never offer raw daikon.

Size

Sticks about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in), or mashed.

Check before serving

Squash a stick between your thumb and finger. It should flatten easily. If you have to press hard, cook it longer.

US and UK advice differ here. The AAP suggests mashed food or soft pieces no larger than ½ inch; the NHS suggests soft finger-sized pieces your baby can hold in their fist. Both agree the food must squash easily.

9 months+

Small soft pieces

Chop soft-cooked daikon into small pieces for pincer-grasp practice, or stir it into rice, lentils, soft noodles or mash.

Size

Pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).

Check before serving

Each piece should squash flat between your thumb and finger.

12 months+

Soft-cooked pieces or in dishes

Serve soft-cooked daikon with family meals: simmered in soups and stews, or braised until tender. Soft-cooked is still safest for young toddlers. For raw daikon, see the guidance note below.

Size

Small soft pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).

Check before serving

Still do the squash test: soft enough to flatten with gentle pressure.

18 months+

Soft-cooked pieces or in family meals

Keep serving daikon cooked until tender, in soups, stews and braised dishes. Raw daikon is hard, and the CDC lists pieces of hard raw vegetables as a choking hazard for young children. US and UK advice differs on raw vegetables for toddlers: see the guidance note below.

Size

Bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or chopped into dishes.

Check before serving

Still do the squash test, especially with stir-fried daikon, which can stay crisp.

Always have your child sit upright in a high chair or at the table, and stay with them the whole time they eat. Keep to the size and texture for their stage. Every baby develops on their own timeline.

How to prepare daikon

1. 1

   Scrub the daikon under running water with a clean vegetable brush, then trim the ends and peel it.

2. 2

   Cut it into finger-sized sticks (6 months), or into chunks you'll chop or mash later.

3. 3

   Simmer or steam for about 15 to 20 minutes, until a knife slides through with no resistance. Don't add salt.

4. 4

   Do the squash test, then mash or chop as needed and let it cool before serving.

How much to offer

Start with one or two soft sticks, or a spoonful of mashed daikon mixed into a food your baby already knows. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Lots of licking, squashing and dropping is normal at first.

Common mistakes

Questions parents ask

If your baby refuses daikon

• Peppery vegetables often take 10 or more tries. Keep offering a little, alongside foods your baby already likes.
• Try it simmered in a soup or stew, where the flavor turns milder and sweeter.
• Eat some yourself at the same meal. Babies copy what they see.
• Funny faces don't mean they dislike it. They're getting used to a new taste and texture.

Never force or pressure your baby to eat. Some days they'll eat more, some days less, and that's normal.

Buying and storing daikon

• Keep raw daikon in the fridge, at or below 40°F (4°C).
• Cooked daikon keeps for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge. Rice dishes are the exception: cool them within 1 hour, keep them in the fridge for no more than 1 day, and reheat them only once.
• Cooked daikon, or mash made with it, can be frozen and used within 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge, use it within 24 hours of thawing, and reheat it only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let it cool before serving.
• Throw away any food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (1 hour if it's hotter than 90°F / 32°C).