*This seed is offered as part of the "Gusto Italiano Project", a collaborative partnership between Uprising Seeds, Italian breeders Smarties.Bio, and the Culinary Breeding Network. Certified organic seed is grown in Italy by Smarties.Bio.
Variety: "Sorgente" Type: Variegato di Lusia Day to Maturity (slot): 60 (extra-early)
(Cichorium intybus) The "Variegato" types are among our very favorite radicchio for their beauty and versatility in both raw or wedged and cooked preparations. Sorgente, an extra early slotting "Lusia" type is an exciting new addition, maturing almost a week before our earliest Castelfranco, "Mirabella". An excellent choice for markets, as they display beautifully without the extra work of "fluffing" (opening the heads) that the Castelfranco types require.
Variegato di Lusia can be thought of as a loose chioggia type with similar shape, same diffuse veining, but much milder bitterness. Like many of the pale to gold radicchi, its bitterness is in the background and its texture most akin to lettuce family greens with a tender crisp crunch (think iceberg meets romaine for an after-dinner amaro). Its a beautiful addition to salads shredded raw and we'll always recommend grilled wedges for just about any of the radicchio types. An excellent choice to win people over to this family of bitter delights or to dip a toe in yourself.
About the named varieties... For most vegetables, in order to provide a continuous harvest over a long period of time, growers stagger planting dates throughout the season which in turn provides a continuous harvest as the plants mature to eating stage. With radicchio, a different strategy is employed. For the most part, the majority of heading radicchio is best suited to seeding around the summer solstice (transplanting in the second-third week of July). To achieve a longer harvest period, rather than staggering planting dates, breeders have developed different varieties within a type with different days-to-maturity harvests. These are often referred to as "slots" with many types having early, mid, and late slotted varieties.
