category: food/groceries: vegetables: leaf vegetables
Radicchio, Italian chicory, red chicory,
bot.: cichorium intybus L. var. foliosum Hegi,
de.: Radicchio, Roter Chicorée, Rote Endivie, Veroneser Radicchio,
fr.: chicorée rouge,
it.: radicchio, radicchio Verona,
radicchio di Treviso, cicorino rosso,
es.: achicoria, cardo
Radicchio belongs to the botanical family of
sunflowers
(bot.:
Compositae
or
Asteraceae).
There are two different kinds of radicchio, depending on the way they grow.
The first is the well known head of radicchio, it is planted in spring and
can be harvested until the first frosts in autumn.
The second kind does not form closed heads but loose leaf rosettes.
Radicchio di Verona is one example for this second kind.
It is planted in summer and harvested the next spring.
Another species of radicchio is Radicchio di Trevese.
As other
chicory varieties,
the leaf veins of radicchio contain the bittering agent
intybin.
If the leaf veins are removed before consumption,
it will not taste as bitter but still contain enough intybin,
which has a healthy effect on the blood vessels and digestion.
Traditional radicchio varieties are named after the Italian regions
where they originate. They can be eaten raw as a salad, grilled or cooked.
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