Radicchio, Calories, benefits and harms, Useful properties

This is a head salad that belongs to the family chicory.
In his “Natural History” Pliny the Elder wrote about this plant,
as a means that can purify the blood and help people who are suffering
from insomnia.
Also Marco Polo wrote about radicchio. He claimed to be a favorite
a product of the inhabitants of the Veneta region (present-day Venice). And today radicchio
– one of the most popular salads among Italians.

Technique for growing radicchio with bright purple leaves
was invented by the Belgian agronomist Francesco van den Borre. It
came up with the idea of ​​getting young plants from the ground and sending them to the basement,
where, due to the lack of the sun, the leaves turn pale, and with the onset
cold weather (radicchio loves low temperatures) they acquire a beautiful
purple coloration. At the same time, a slight bitterness appears in the taste of the leaves.

Today, the recognized leader in the cultivation of radicchio is
Italian province of Treviso. It was here for several
centuries have held annual fairs and folklore festivals dedicated to
this product.

Several types of the popular radicchio salad are now grown:

  • Radicchio di Castelfranco – variegated plant
    from Castelfranco. This variety has light upper leaves with purple
    interspersed. It ripens in November-December.
  • Radicchio of Treviso – early ripening red variety
    from Treviso. This salad, which has long purple leaves, looks like
    on chicory salad.
  • Late red chicory – late red variety
    from Treviso. This variety ripens no earlier than December and has more
    bitter taste than early maturing radicchio. Leaves in the head of it
    varieties are located more loosely.
  • Radicchio of Chioggia – growing all year round
    grade. This plant has a dense head of cabbage with purple leaves.

How to choose

In order to choose a delicious radicchio, you need to look for a dense head
plants with bright flowers, crisp and shiny leaves. If a
you will notice signs of darkening on the salad, this may indicate
that the radicchio was kept for too long. It is better to refuse such a product.

How to store

Keep Radicchio in the refrigerator only. At the same time, choose
the coldest place, for example, a special compartment for vegetables
and fruits.

It is not advised to wash it before putting the salad in the refrigerator.
In this form, the shelf life of the plant should not exceed 2-3 days.
If you need to store it a little more, up to a week, you can put it chilled
radicchio in a tightly sealed plastic bag. Moreover, the upper
crumpled or damaged leaves should be removed and not eaten.

In cooking

The tangy flavor of radicchio makes it a great addition to any
assorted vegetables, especially one that contains varieties
vegetables with a neutral taste.

In Italy, in whose cuisine there is a great variety of vegetable dishes,
they love to stew radicchio in red wine or olive oil. Stewed
radicchio is often served as a side dish for meat dishes. It goes well
with garlic,
thyme and onion, you can try other seasonings; in any
if you have an original Mediterranean dish with
spicy taste.

Fresh radicchio can be an excellent ingredient for
salads with cheese, seasoned with olive
oil, which is pre-mixed with balsamic vinegar.

One of the most delicious and traditional combinations is radicchio,
served with risotto.

Salad with radicchio, tuna in its own juice and arugula
– one of the specialties of Venice restaurants. Generally, arugula and radicchio
often mixed. Both of these products are pointed, though slightly
different shades of taste, which is why they perfectly complement each other
friend and in hot dishes and salads. Also considered interesting
combining radicchio with honey
and apples.

Culinary experts advise placing radicchio leaves before use.
in a container with ice and water for a few minutes. So the leaves will become
crisper and brighter. In addition, soaking will reduce
bitterness. You can also dip the leaves in boiling water to reduce the bitterness.

The bitter aftertaste of the salad characteristic of red varieties creates
unique combination with soft cheeses such as taledžio
or gorgonzola… But a young plant variety is lighter
tastes and is used in fresh salads much more often.

Useful properties of radicchio

Composition and presence of nutrients

Raw radicchio contains (per 100 g):

Calories 23 Kcal

The radicchio leafy vegetable is juicy, like red beets or
ripe pomegranate color. He owes this to a very useful substance. anthocyanin.
Also, this plant contains unique compounds zeaxanthin, intibin,
vitamin C, folates, minerals and antioxidants.

Useful and healing properties

Vitamin B9 contained in radicchio participates as a coenzyme
in the metabolism of amino and nucleic acids. Folate deficiency results in
to disruption of protein and nucleic acid synthesis, resulting in
is inhibition of cell division and growth, especially in fast
proliferating tissues: intestinal epithelium, bone marrow, etc.
folate intake during pregnancy is considered one of the reasons
hypotrophy, prematurity, congenital child development and deformities
violations. There is also a strong link between the level of homocysteine,
folate and the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Vitamin
E, which is also found in radicchio, has antioxidant
properties, needed for the proper functioning of the heart muscle,
gonads, is a stabilizer of cell membranes. With a lack
vitamin E, neurological disorders, hemolysis of erythrocytes are observed.

Vitamin
K in Radikio regulates blood clotting. Its deficiency leads
to an increase in clotting time, a reduced content of prothrombin.

potassium
– the main intracellular ion involved in the regulation of water,
electrolyte and acid balance, pressure regulation,
nerve impulses.

Copper is in the composition of enzymes that have a redox
activity and involved in iron metabolism, stimulating
assimilation of carbohydrates and proteins. This element participates in the processes
providing tissues with oxygen. Copper deficiency manifests itself in problems
with the formation of the cardiovascular system and skeleton, the risk of development
dysplasias
connective tissue.

And the plant’s zeaxanthin and lutein are very beneficial for
eyes, as they protect them from the harmful effects of ultraviolet
rays.

Dangerous properties of radicchio

Since radicchio contains a lot of vitamin K, which provides clotting
blood, this leafy vegetable is not recommended for people who
are taking anticoagulants (blood thinners), otherwise they
efficiency will be greatly reduced.

In the proposed video, Julia Vysotskaya will tell and show how to prepare an unusual salad with radicchio, chicory, bell pepper and salmon.

See also the properties of other vegetables:

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Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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