La catalogna puntarelle si distingue dalle altre varietà di cicoria per la caratteristica di formare, al centro della rosa di foglie, un insieme di grossi germogli uniti fra loro a forma di pigna.
Varietà tipica della Puglia meridionale, la puntarelle di Galatina è una caratteristica cultivar di cicoria catalogna apprezzata per la tenerezza del cuore centrale che la rende particolarmente adatta al consumo crudo, in insalata o in pinzimonio. Oltre al primo taglio, mediante il quale is removed the entire central bush, the plant is able to provide abundant harvest of the second and third cut, with chicory that sprout at the base of the leaves around the collar. Unlike those of the first cut, they do not form a single clump, and yet they are collected separately from each other. Are best suited for preparation for cooking, fried or boiled and seasoned with salt and oil, or served as a side dish of traditional dishes of vegetables.
The habit of properly cut the clump of chicory to promote the regrowth of new shoots was common in the ancient rural world, where the intensive use of land that now makes it mandatory to leave the first possible from the old crop fields to facilitate the installation of new, was not a necessity. Conversely, the obvious opportunities for cost savings, suggested to minimize waste and use of all that the plant was able to provide.
