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Chicory is widely used in recipes in continental Europe. It is the number five top-selling vegetable in The Netherlands and in the top ten in many other countries.
It has achieved this popularity only fairly recently. In fact, chicory was not ‘discovered’ until 1873 when it appeared at an exhibition in Belgium and it was 1913 before the vegetable was sold commercially.
Botanically, chicory belongs to the Cichorium family. The slightly bitter taste of chicory is characteristic of this group of plants.
Comercially grown chicory has a pure white colour because the roots sprout in complete darkness.
Although we call it chicory here, it is more commonly known as witloof (meaning white leaf) in Europe and is called Belgian endive in the US. |
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| STORING |
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Chicory can be kept fresh for up to a week by storing it in a cool, dark place - preferably in the fridge.
Light causes the leaves to turn green. If you find any green leaves on the head, it's best to remove them. Slicing away the bottom part of the heart (approximately 1/2 cm) also helps lessen the bitter taste. |
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| PREPARATION AND COOKING |
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Chicory is a versatile, easy to prepare vegetable. Simply remove a few of the outer leaves and trim away the bottom part of the head. If the heart is large, it can also be removed.
Place the chicory in a pan of water and gently cook for 15 to 20 minutes until tender. Add a few drops of lemon juice to the cooking water to keep the chicory white.
The latest trend is stir-frying. This popular method means dishes can be prepared in no time, using little fat yet retaining an optimal natural flavour, structure and vitamin content. Stir-frying in a wok also sweetens the naturally bitter taste of chicory - so even children enjoy it.
Chicory is also excellent in baked or grilled dishes – or raw in salads.
For stir-frying or cooking, use 2 heads of chicory (250-300 gram) per person. In salad 1 head (150 gram) per person is enough. |
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| HEALTHY EATING |
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| Chicory has good health benefits. It is an excellent source of folate (folic acid), a B vitamin needed for cell replication and growth which is a key nutritional requirement during pregnancy. Chicory is also a good source of calcium and vitamin K, which are required for healthy bone and dental development in children. |
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| CULTIVATION |
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Chicory is familiar as a colourful wild plant in many parts of Northern Europe, particularly on calcareous soils.
Commercial chicory heads are grown in the dark from a root.
Until around 1975 chicory was grown nearly completely under the ground. From the end of the 1970s chicory was increasingly cultivated on running water, also called 'process water’. 99 per cent of commercially grown chicory is now produced in this way.
With this method, the chicory is sown in the ground. Around 20 weeks later the chicory roots are harvested - usually from the beginning of August until the end of November.
The foliage is removed from the roots in the fields, back to the growing point. The growing point stays on the chicory root where it later develops into new heads.
The roots are transported in large crates to the ‘forcing’ facility, where they are graded, packed into smaller crates and stored at a temperature of -1 °C. They are sprayed regularly with water, which creates a layer of ice around the roots. This stops the roots dehydrating and bolting.
Chicory heads develop from the root system in darkened, climate controlled rooms in around three weeks. This system is called ‘forcing’.
When the chicory heads in the crates have reached maturity, the heads are snapped away from the roots and the outer leaves removed before the heads are graded according to size and quality. |
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