{"id":24823,"date":"2021-06-22T12:56:11","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T19:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/?post_type=product&p=24823"},"modified":"2026-07-09T10:32:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:32:05","slug":"chicory-puntarelle-di-galantina-medusa-gusto-italiano-project","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/shop\/chicory-puntarelle-di-galantina-medusa-gusto-italiano-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicory (Puntarelle di Gaeta) ‘Gaetano’ (Gusto Italiano Project)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Traditionally grown in the region around Rome, puntarelle is unique among the chicories in that it is the young, hollow bolting shoots that are usually eaten rather than the leaves. They grow into dense beautiful “heads” (referred to as “pigna” or pinecones in Italy) with many points that, upon harvest, are separated, julienned into thin strips, and soaked in cold water to remove some of the bitterness while developing an elegant curl. In Roman markets vendors can be found prepping the greens using a\u00a0taglia puntarelle<\/em>, a tool consisting of a fine wire grid which the stems are pushed through to finely slice them for soaking. The texture is crisp and crunchy with the lovely refreshing bitterness of its radicchio siblings. In Rome, Puntarelle alla Romana – thin strips of puntarelle in an anchovy, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil dressing – is a quintessential winter salad.
\nGaetano<\/em> is our friends’ at Smarties.bio first foray into a selection of the Roman type. The heads of these tend to be bigger and heavier than Medusa<\/a>, the heading more uniform, and the stems (the culinary part) shorter. As they stretch out the stems tend to need a trim from the bottom as the bases get a bit fibrous (much like the bottoms of asparagus spears). Somewhat unexpectedly, though these types come from the warmer south, they also tend to be more cold-hardy and can be harvested later into the fall. While less uniform in heading, the longer slender stems are more delicate and tender and better suited to the traditional preparation of match-sticking and soaking in cold water to gain the distinctive curl for salad use. It comes on slightly earlier than Medusa and is not quite as winter hardy. We feel as though both types have their place in creating a complete program to maximize puntarelle enjoyment each fall. 70-90 days. Photo and text courtesy of Uprising Seeds.<\/p>\n

Gusto Italiano Project<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

More information can be found on the following:<\/p>\n

www.culinarybreedingnetwork.com<\/a><\/p>\n

www.eatwintervegetables.com<\/a><\/p>\n

www.eatwintersquash.com<\/a><\/p>\n

www.eatradicchio.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Culinary Breeding Network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Traditionally grown in the region around Rome, puntarelle is unique among the chicories in that it is the young, hollow bolting shoots that are usually eaten rather than the leaves. They grow into dense beautiful “heads” (referred to as “pigna” or pinecones in Italy) with many points that, upon harvest, are separated, julienned into thin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":35407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_cat":[1613,1630,796],"product_tag":[1999,488,1615],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/24823"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=24823"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=24823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}