Radicchio
All the most common varieties of red lettuce are variants of the same plant: chicory, also known as radicchio (scientific name Cichorium Intybus). The origin is probably Chinese, but it has grown spontaneously all over Europe for centuries.
The many varieties of radicchio can be placed in three main groups: green or white-leaved chicories (including cicorino – the base leaves of common chicory are normally eaten in salads – and sugarloaf), red-leaved chicories (including the radicchios of Treviso, Verona and Castelfranco) and asparagus or spear chicories (also known as Catalogna, as it originates in the Catalonia region).
CURIOSITY
The Trevisana Tardiva variety is the result of a post-harvest process in which the roots of the radicchio plants are immersed in groundwater under controlled conditions to induce the plants to produce new leaves which, in the absence of light, lack chlorophyll and become deep red in colour, taking on a pleasant bitterness and greater crispness.
