Chicory ~ Radicchio di Treviso Tardivo

Description

Chicorium intybus
Seeds Per Packet: 150
Price Per Packet: $4.00
Days To Maturity: 110 days

The radicchio di Treviso we are most familiar with looks much like a cross between romaine and red radicchio. The beautiful tardivo (meaning “late”) variety, however, has much wider ribs and more slender, curled, almost snail shell-shaped leaves. Its “Protected Geographical Indication” status restricts its cultivation, in Europe, to the Veneto region of Italy. Ideally, the plants are harvested at frost in the fall, blanched, then forced to produce the characteristic heads. This tender, delicious, mildly bitter radicchio has multiple culinary uses and is well worth the effort in growing it.