Radicchio looks like red cabbage, but it’s actually a chicory family member. This leaf is typically used for an accent in salads because of its steep cost as most radicchio lettuce arrives from Italy. Radicchio was first grown commercially in California in 1981.

The round Verona variety is the most common in the US. Radicchio is used most often in salads, but is quite suitable to cooked preparations. It is available year-round with a peak season from midwinter to early spring.

When purchasing, choose heads that have crisp, tight and firm, full-colored leaves with no sign of browning. Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to two week. Besides being used in salads, radicchio may also be cooked by grilling, sautéing, or baking. They can range in taste from mild to extremely bitter.

History of

Predecessors to radicchio were once found all over areas of Eurasia and, geographically speaking, may even have existed in the Garden of Eden. But, since Adam and Eve's possible discovery of early chicory, the vegetable has grown mainly in regions of Northern Italy, especially in the Veneto region, where it currently thrives. Pliny the Elder (23 A.D.-79 A.D.) was the first to write about radicchio, when he referred to the Venetian lettuce in his Naturalis Historia, in praise of its more purifying qualities. Though environment, cultivation, and hybridization have modified the vegetable since ancient times, many of radicchio's original medicinal properties still apply today.

True cultivation of the plant began in Veneto during the 15th Century, when crop specialization and the plant's popularity among local farmers increased. At this time a special type of radicchio, the Rosa di Chioggia, was born on the Chioggia Island in Veneto, helping to produce fertile soil more conducive to cultivating other vegetables. In the 1970s, Italy began to export this and other varieties of the celebrated radicchio plant throughout the world.

Italian Tradition

Radicchio is truly part of the Italian culture. Over the centuries it has developed into a culinary treasure - grown, harvested and prepared with great care and passion.

Veneto Region

The Veneto region of Northern Italy, in particular, truly celebrates radicchio. Each radicchio variety is named after the Italian town that boasts its birthplace. EVS grows the three most popular varieties named after their hometown:

CHIOGGIA - Radicchio di Chioggia
TREVISO - Radicchio di Treviso and Tardivo
CASTELFRANCO - Radicchio di Castelfranco

Nutritional Information

The vegetable has properties aiding in digestion, and acts as a purifying diuretic, tonic and laxative, while protecting the liver. Its organic juices are used in cosmetics to naturally soothe and relieve irritated skin. Like other colorful vegetables, Radicchio is high in fiber, and has an ample vitamin content rich in A and C, as well as Iron (in the green leaf varieties).

Source: European Vegetable Specialties.
Source: Vegetable Growers of America.