The Chicory plant is probably the most underestimated botanical treasure, with an astounding range of widely differing varieties, ranging from the humble little roadside plant with starry blue flowers to the bitter-tasting red-leaved winter salad.

Less known except to gourmets and foody experts, however, is the queen of chicories – the Radicchio Rosso di Treviso (the Red Chicory of Treviso), cultivated exclusively in the fields of 24 municipalities in the Veneto Region and decorated with the exclusive IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetto) denomination that guarantees not only the place of production but also its unique properties.

The Treviso chicory undergoes what can only be described as a magical transformation before it reaches the market place. For a start, the seedlings are planted in the autumn and harvesting only begins after the fields have suffered a couple of frosts. Uprooted and tied in bunches, the roots are suspended and left for a few weeks dangling in the pure running water from the Dolomite mountain springs. Next stage is the crucial “bleaching”, where the plants are kept in darkness for another couple of weeks. The result is an amazing metamorphosis. The leaves have become elegantly curving natural compositions in variations of white, crimson and purple.

It is not surprising that the Treviso Red Chicory and its variations: the early variety, the late variety and the Castelfranco variation (which is a different shape and colour) are considered gastronomic masterpieces created by man and Nature.

The quality of the three products is guaranteed by the Consortium for the Protection of the Radicchio Rosso di Treviso IGP and the Variegato di Castelfranco IGP, with headquarters in Quinto di Treviso, some 25 kilometres from Venice.

M. STENHOUSE

Info: Tel. +39.0422.486073 www.radicchioditrevisi.it consorzio@radicchioditreviso.it