When flowering, chicory has a tough, grooved, and more or less hairy stem. It can grow to 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall.[7] The
leaves are stalked,
lanceolate and unlobed; they range from 7.5–32 centimetres (3–12+1⁄2 inches) in length (smallest near the top)[8] and 2–8 cm (3⁄4–3+1⁄4 in) wide.[7] The flower heads are 3–5 cm (1+1⁄4–2 in) wide,[7] and usually light blue[8] or lavender; it has also rarely been described as white or pink.[7] Of the two rows of
involucral bracts, the inner is longer and erect, the outer is shorter and spreading. It flowers from March until October.[8] The seed has small scales at the tip.[8]
Common chicory is also known as blue daisy, blue dandelion, blue sailors, blue weed, bunk, coffeeweed, cornflower, hendibeh, horseweed, ragged sailors, succory, wild bachelor's buttons, and wild endive.[10] ("Cornflower" is also commonly applied to Centaurea cyanus.) Common names for varieties of var. foliosum include
endive,
radicchio,
radichetta, Belgian endive, French endive, red endive, sugarloaf, and witloof (or witlof).[11]
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Chicory is both a cultivated crop and a
weedy plant with a cosmopolitan distribution. Analysis of introduced weedy populations in North America has revealed that naturalized weedy chicory is partially descended from domesticated cultivars.[16]
Chicory grows in roadsides, waste places, and other disturbed areas, and can survive in lawns due to its ability to resprout from its low basal rosette of leaves. It typically does not enter undisturbed natural areas.[17][18] It most prefers limestone soils, but tolerates an array of conditions.
Bees, butterflies, and flies feed upon it.
Raw chicory leaves are 92% water, 5%
carbohydrates, 2%
protein, and contain negligible
fat (table). In a 100-gram (3½ oz) reference amount, raw chicory leaves provide 23
calories (96 J) and significant amounts (more than 20% of the
Daily Value) of
vitamin K,
vitamin A,
vitamin C, some
B vitamins, and
manganese.
Vitamin E and
calcium are present in moderate amounts. Raw endive is 94% water and has low nutrient content.
Root chicory
Root chicory (Cichorium intybus var. sativum) has long been cultivated in Europe as a
coffee substitute.[22] The roots are baked, roasted, ground, and used as an additive, especially in the
Mediterranean region (where the plant is native). As a coffee additive, it is also mixed in
Indian filter coffee and in parts of Southeast Asia, South Africa, and the southern United States, particularly in
New Orleans. In France, a mixture of 60% chicory and 40% coffee is sold under the trade name
Ricoré. It has been more widely used during economic crises such as the
Great Depression in the 1930s and during
World War II in Continental Europe. Chicory, with
sugar beet and
rye, was used as an ingredient of the
East GermanMischkaffee (mixed coffee), introduced during the "
East German coffee crisis" of 1976–1979. It is also added to coffee in
Spanish,
Greek,
Turkish,
Syrian,
Lebanese and
Palestinian cuisines.[23]
Some beer brewers use roasted chicory to add flavor to
stouts (commonly expected to have a coffee-like flavor). Others have added it to strong blond Belgian-style ales, to augment the
hops, making a witloofbier, from the Dutch name for the plant.
While edible raw, wild chicory leaves usually have a
bitter taste, especially the older leaves.[25] The flavor is appreciated in certain cuisines, such as in the
Ligurian and
Apulian regions of
Italy and also in the southern part of India. In Ligurian cuisine, wild chicory leaves are an ingredient of preboggion and in the Apulian region, wild chicory leaves are combined with
fava bean puree in the traditional local dish fave e cicorie selvatiche.[26] In
Albania, the leaves are used as a spinach substitute, mainly served simmered and marinated in olive oil, or as ingredient for fillings of byrek. In Greece a variety of wild chicory found in
Crete and known as stamnagathi (spiny chicory) is used as a salad served with olive oil and lemon juice.
By cooking and discarding the water, the bitterness is reduced, after which the chicory leaves may be
sautéed with garlic,
anchovies, and other ingredients. In this form, the resulting greens might be combined with
pasta[27] or accompany meat dishes.[28]
Cultivated
Chicory may be cultivated for its leaves, usually eaten raw as
salad leaves. Cultivated chicory is generally divided into three types, of which there are many varieties:[29]
Radicchio usually has variegated red or red and green leaves. Some only refer to the white-veined red-leaved type as radicchio, also known as red endive and red chicory. It has a bitter and spicy taste, which mellows when it is grilled or roasted. It can also be used to add color and zest to salads. It is largely used in Italy in different varieties, the most famous being the ones from
Treviso (known as radicchio rosso di Treviso),[30][31] from
Verona (radicchio di Verona), and
Chioggia (radicchio di Chioggia), which are classified as an
IGP.[32][clarification needed] It is also common in Greece, where it is known as radiki and mainly boiled in salads, and is used in pies.[citation needed]
Belgian endive is known in
Dutch as witloof or witlof ("white leaf"), indivia in Italy, endivias in Spain, chicory in the UK, as witlof in
Australia, endive in France and Canada, and chicon in parts of northern France, in
Wallonia and (in French) in
Luxembourg.[33] It has a small head of cream-colored, bitter leaves. The harvested root is allowed to sprout indoors in the absence of sunlight, which prevents the leaves from turning green and opening up (
etiolation). It is often sold wrapped in blue paper to protect it from light, so as to preserve its pale color and delicate flavor. The smooth, creamy white leaves may be served stuffed, baked, boiled, cut, or cooked in a milk sauce, or simply cut raw. The tender leaves are slightly bitter; the whiter the leaf, the less bitter the taste. The harder inner part of the stem at the bottom of the head can be cut out before cooking to prevent bitterness. Belgium exports chicon/witloof to over 40 countries. The technique for growing these
blanched endives was accidentally discovered in the 1850s at the
Botanical Garden of Brussels in
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Belgium.[34] Today France is the largest producer of endive.[35]
Catalogna chicory (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum), also known as puntarelle, includes a whole subfamily (some varieties from Belgian endive and some from radicchio)[36] of chicory and is used throughout Italy.
Although leaf chicory is often called "endive", true endive (Cichorium endivia) is a different species in the same genus, distinct from Belgian endive.[37]
Chicory root and inulin
Inulin is mainly found in the plant family
Asteraceae as a storage carbohydrate (for example
Jerusalem artichoke,
dahlia,
yacon, etc.). It is used as a sweetener in the food industry, with 10% of the sweetening power of sucrose[38] and is sometimes added to yogurts as a '
prebiotic'.[39]
Fresh chicory root may contain 13–23% inulin as a percentage of its total carbohydrate content.[40]
Chicory is highly digestible for
ruminants and has a low fiber concentration.[43] Chicory roots were once considered an "excellent substitute for
oats" for horses due to their protein and fat content.[44] Chicory contains a low quantity of reduced tannins[43] that may increase protein utilization efficiency in ruminants.[citation needed]
Some tannins reduce intestinal parasites.[45][46] Dietary chicory may be
toxic to internal
parasites, with studies of ingesting chicory by
farm animals having lower
worm burdens, leading to its use as a
foragesupplement.[47][48][49] Although chicory might have originated in France, Italy and India,[50] much development of chicory for use with livestock has been undertaken in New Zealand.[51]
Forage varieties
'Puna' ('
Grasslands Puna'): Developed in New Zealand,[52][53] Grasslands Puna is well adapted to different climates, being grown from
Alberta,
Canada,
New Mexico,
Florida to Australia.[54] It is resistant to bolting, which leads to high nutrient levels in the leaves in spring. It also is able to quickly come back after grazing.[55]
'Forage Feast':[56] A variety from France used for human consumption and also for wildlife plots, where animals such as deer might graze.[54] It is resistant to bolting.[57] It is very cold-hardy, and being lower in tannins than other forage varieties, is suitable for human consumption.[citation needed]
'Choice': has been bred for high winter and early-spring growth activity, and lower amounts of lactucin and lactone, which are believed to taint milk. It is also use for seeding deer wildlife plots.[54]
'Oasis':[58] was bred for increased lactone rates for the forage industry, and for higher resistance to fungal diseases such as Sclerotinia (mainly s. minor and S. sclerotiorum.[59])
'Puna II': This variety is more winter-active than most others, which leads to greater persistence and longevity.[54]
'Grouse':[54] A New Zealand variety, it is used as a planting companion for forage
brassicas. More prone to early flowering than other varieties, it has higher crowns more susceptible to overbrowsing.
'Six Point': A United States variety, winter hardy and resistant to bolting.[58] It is very similar to Puna.
Others varieties known include; 'Chico', 'Ceres Grouse', 'Good Hunt', 'El Nino' and 'Lacerta'.[57]
History
The plant has a history reaching back to ancient Egypt.[citation needed] In ancient
Rome, a dish called puntarelle was made with chicory sprouts.[60] It was mentioned by
Horace in reference to his own diet, which he describes as very simple: Me pascunt olivae, me cichorea levesque
malvae ("As for me, olives, endives, and light mallows provide sustenance").[61] Chicory was first described as a cultivated plant in the 17th century.[62] When coffee was introduced to Europe, the Dutch thought that chicory made a lively addition to the bean drink.[citation needed]
In 1766,
Frederick the Great banned the importation of coffee into
Prussia, leading to the development of a coffee substitute by
Brunswick innkeeper Christian Gottlieb Förster (died 1801), who gained a concession in 1769–70 to manufacture it in Brunswick and
Berlin. By 1795, 22 to 24 factories of this type were in Brunswick.[63][64]Lord Monboddo describes the plant in 1779[65] as the "chicoree", which the French cultivated as a
pot herb. In
Napoleonic Era France, chicory frequently appeared as an
adulterant in coffee, or as a coffee substitute.[66] Chicory was also adopted as a coffee substitute by Confederate soldiers during the
American Civil War, and has become common in the United States. It was also used in the United Kingdom during the Second World War, where
Camp Coffee, a coffee and chicory essence, has been on sale since 1885.[67]
In the U.S., chicory root has long been used as a coffee substitute in prisons.[68] By the 1840s, the
port of New Orleans was the second-largest importer of coffee (after New York).[66] Louisianans began to add chicory root to their coffee when
Union naval blockades during the American Civil War cut off the port of New Orleans, thereby creating a long-standing tradition.[66]
In culture
Chicory is mentioned in certain ancient Chinese texts about silk production. Amongst traditional recommendations the primary caretaker of the silkworms, the "silkworm mother", should not eat or even touch it.[69][70]
The chicory flower is often seen as inspiration for the Romantic concept of the
Blue Flower (e.g. in German language Blauwarte ≈ blue lookout by the wayside). Similar to the springwort and moonwort, it could open locked doors, according to European
folklore.[71][72] However, the plant must be gathered at noon or midnight on St. James's Day and cut with gold while being silent, or else one would die afterwards. [72]
Chicory was also believed to grant its possessor invisibility. [72]
^Harsh Pal Bais, GA Ravishankar (2001) Cichorium intybus L – cultivation, processing, utility, value addition and biotechnology, with an emphasis on current status and future prospects. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 81, 467–484.
^John Cardina; Cathy Herms; Tim Koch; Ted Webster.
"Chickory Cichorium intybus". Ohio Perennial & Biennial Weed Guide. Ohio State University OARDC Extension. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
^Benigni, M.; Bompeix, G. (2010). "Chemical and biological control of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in witloof chicory culture". Pest Manag. Sci. 66 (12): 1332–1336.
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^(a) Delaney, John H. "New York (State). Dept. of Efficiency and Economy Annual Report". Albany New York, 1915, p. 673. Accessed via Google Books. (b) "Prison Talk" website; Kentucky section:
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Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-18..