Pre-order In Search of the Perfect Peach now, our Founder Franco Fubini’s debut book

RADICCHIO, NOT ROSES 2023

14·02·23

5 min read

Campaigns

Floral display made of radicchio varieties

Seasonal Radicchio from Veneto, Italy. Arranged by SSAW Collective

This Valentine’s Day, what impact do you want to have?

Give roses to support a system that is taking its toll on both people and planet.


250 million roses are grown for Valentine’s Day. In the US, roses are in bloom from mid-spring to fall. However, more are sold for Valentine’s Day than at any other time of year.[1]

Give radicchio to back growing artistry in Veneto.


Today, traditionally forced radicchio plants are fast disappearing as yield-driven cultivation dominates. Plus, the unpredictability of a growing season down to climate change means the stakes are higher than ever. This Valentine’s, preserve growing artistry and bring incredible flavors back from the brink of extinction.


BACK SEASONALITY

IN FEBRUARY, ROSES ARE NOT IN SEASON IN THE US

They are grown in Latin America, specifically Colombia and Ecuador, where the climate is conducive to winter growth.[2] The success of this industry is reliant, in large part, on dangerous chemicals and low wages with detrimental social and environmental costs.[3]

To boycott imported blooms entirely could cause major socio-economic impacts in those countries affected, but that does not mean we have to accept the current status quo. The key is conversation. This year, consider early spring local crops that can be grown in greenhouses — ranunculus, anemones, tulips, narcissus, and hellebores.

Or, choose Radicchio. Earlier this year at Tamarack Hollow in Vermont, Amanda successfully trialed her first crop of forced Rosa del Veneto — proof that radicchio can thrive in the US without chemical intervention at this time of year. While we hope to see a network of US growers develop, we continue to back those on the ground in Veneto who are fighting to preserve the varieties and traditions passed down the generations.

“You don’t need to ban roses.
The system just needs to change.”
Liv, SSAW Collective
Two women from ssaw collective designing a table display with radicchio

Arranging radicchio, SSAW Collective 2023

Last year, two remarkably similar campaigns were launched in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day. We urged shoppers to ‘Buy Radicchio, Not Roses.' SSAW Collective — the chefs, florists & growers committed to an ethical way of working with seasonal produce — asked, “Why buy roses in February”?


PRESERVE GROWING ARTISTRY

TRADITIONALLY-GROWN VENETIAN RADICCHIO IS ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION

VENETIAN RADICCHIO

Veneto, in Italy’s northeast, has maintained a long tradition of radicchio growing. For centuries, wild chicory has been eaten here, thriving in the heavy, mineral-rich soils and fluctuating temperatures that drop below freezing for weeks at a time. Towns like Chioggia, Treviso, Castelfranco, Verona, Lusia, and Gorizia all give their names to fiercely local varieties.

TRADITIONAL FORCING

However, these plants were elevated into a delicacy through careful selection, the passing on of traditional wisdom, and the development of an innovative cultivation process: forcing. After an initial period of outdoor growth, growers would re-plant their chicories in the dark, their roots often immersed in soil, spring water or sand. Triggered into new growth without photosynthesis, nutrient-dense, bittersweet and firm heads would form. By 1900 there were whole exhibitions celebrating these qualities.

Today, however, a different story dominates. Most growers opt for modern varieties designed to self-blanch in the field. The result: higher yields but depleted flavor in dull or overly bitter heads.

OUR GROWERS

A decade ago we came across Antonello’s chicories at the Lusia market in Veneto. From their striking colors to their densely packed heads, we recognized quality that only comes as a result of genuine artistry. Since then, we have built relationships with a number of small-scale, traditional growers going against the odds— Luca, Damiano, Torre and Simone.

A GREATER THREAT

This year, it’s more than yield which threatens production: it’s climate change. With winters getting warmer, the hard, cold frosts so vital to the process are happening later and less frequently. As a result, Antonello has not been able to grow one of his usual varieties — Castelfranco — for the first time.


Antonello

Working with Antonello for almost a decade, Natoora is the only source of his outstanding radicchio varieties outside of Veneto, Italy. From seed saving to sand-forcing, Antonello shares the cultivation methods that take his Pink Radicchio, Castelfranco and Rosello di Lusia to insane heights: Crisp, complex chicories prized by London and New York’s most flavour-focused chefs.


CHOOSE FLAVOR, NOT WASTE

RADICCHIO IS EATEN, NOT WASTED AT END OF LIFE

Deep purple with tight, curled leaves or rosette-shaped with red speckles, bright red with crisp white veins or all hues of pink; we challenge you to find flowers more striking and vibrant than these radicchio heads.

At the end of their life as centerpieces, radicchio plants are eaten, not wasted. Radicchio plants are eaten, not wasted. Their bittersweet complexity makes them ideal for cold-weather salads. Try with lemon, anchovy and garlic dressing or preserved lime and rose vinegar. Mix with fennel and blood orange or try it wrapped around hot smoked trout and kabocha squash onigiri (as an alternative to seaweed).

Stories

See all

We exist to fix the food system.

People are more cut off from the origins of their food than ever. This makes flavor, nutrition and farming practices that protect the planet, almost impossible to find.

By working directly with growers, we create a more sustainable way forward for farming. By giving everyone the tools to understand the power of our food choices, we empower everybody to become drivers of change.

Now is the time for action. Join the food system revolution.

Footer icon

Go beyond four seasons

Each fruit and vegetable has its own season, with subtle shifts which happen every day. Follow their microseasons to unlock flavor at every stage.

WHAT’S IN SEASON?

location pin icon

Know where your food comes from

We know the name of the person behind everything we source. Recognize their growing artistry to find out exactly where your food comes from (and why that matters).

MEET THE GROWERS

flower type shape vector image

Make your diet diverse

Our growers work with varieties chosen for quality and nutrition, not yield. By selecting their crops you keep heritage seeds in play, add to ecosystem biodiversity and preserve unique flavors.

GO #OFFTHEPASS

Get our seasonal updates straight to your inbox

United States

© 2024 Natoora Ltd.