100 days. If Rosso di Chioggia was the ambassador to the first wave of radicchio in the US, Rosa del Veneto is surely that of the second wave. In this time of sumptuous food photography, no radicchio has garnered as much social media attention in the past few years than these pink beauties. It’s hard to wrap your head around growing something so beautiful you can eat, too!
We’re very excited about this latest introduction from our friends at Smarties.bio. Along radicchio’s inevitable march to becoming America’s Favorite Vegetable™, few types have captured the attention of the food loving public more than the pink rosettes of Rosa del Veneto. It’s the glitterati of the radicchio family.
One of the biggest drawbacks, from a growing perspective however is that they historically have been very late to mature. And its not just a matter of sizing up…they are usually actually almost entirely green until at least late November when they start to develop a pink core of leaves that fills into the characteristic loose head. In places like the Northeast that often see rapid transitions to very cold winter temps by then, it could be very hard to get them to full maturity.
‘Jolanda’ is a special selection for early coloring and we were hugely impressed with the results in an observation trial at the home farm this year. We had beautifully colored hearts by the second week of October, and while the heads continued to fill in for the next two months after that, loose heads with the fantastic salmon pink color could be harvested for salad much earlier than other varieties of the type. It did not appear to us as though there was much of a downside later in the season either, as the heads never became “overmature” if left to grow longer. In fact, we found the quality of heading to be among the best and most uniform we have yet seen for the pinks. Andrea and the Smarties crew are onto something with this selection. Highly recommended. Photos and text courtesy of Uprising Seeds.
Gusto Italiano Project is a collaboration between Culinary Breeding Network, Uprising Seeds and northern Italian vegetable breeders at Smarties.bio. The project was born from a mutual love of radicchio and a desire to further establish it as an anchor of the fall and winter produce season here in North America, and specifically the Pacific Northwest. This special line of certified organic radicchio and regional specialty Brassica seeds was bred and grown in Italy by the incredible folks at Smarties.bio. Based in Chioggia, the heart of radicchio’s motherland, Smarties.bio exists at the crossroads of tradition and innovation by bringing years of modern breeding experience to classic, culturally significant vegetables of their region.
More information can be found on the following:
www.culinarybreedingnetwork.com
Culinary Breeding Network
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