Common chicory (Cichorium intybus)[3] is a somewhat woody,perennial herbaceous plant of the familyAsteraceae, usually with bright blueflowers, rarely white or pink. Native to the Old World, it has been introduced to the Americas and Australia.
When flowering, chicory has a tough, grooved, and more or less hairy stem. It can grow to 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall.[4] Theleaves are stalked,lanceolate and unlobed; they range from 7.5–32 centimetres (3–12+1⁄2 inches) in length (smallest near the top)[5] and2–8 cm (3⁄4–3+1⁄4 in) wide.[4] The flower heads are3–5 cm (1+1⁄4–2 in) wide,[4] and usually light blue[5] or lavender; it has also rarely been described as white or pink.[4] Of the two rows ofinvolucral bracts, the inner is longer and erect, the outer is shorter and spreading. It flowers from March until October.[5] The seed has small scales at the tip.[5]
Common chicory is also known asblue daisy,blue dandelion,blue sailors,blue weed, andwild endive, among numerous other regional names.[7] ("Cornflower" is also commonly applied toCentaurea cyanus.) Common names for varieties of var.foliosum includeendive,radicchio,radichetta, Belgian endive, French endive, red endive, sugarloaf, and witloof (or witlof).[8]
The scientific genus nameCichorium is ultimately fromAncient Greek:κίχορα : kíkhora, meaning endive. The species nameintybus is a variant ofLatin:intibus also meaning endive. Moreover,intibus is the ultimate etymological source of the English wordendive.
Ironically, the species of true endives is notCichorium intybus but ratherCichorium endivia.
Chicory is both acultivated crop and aweedy plant with a cosmopolitan distribution. Analysis of introduced weedy populations in North America has revealed that naturalized weedy chicory is partially descended from domesticatedcultivars.[14]
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.[15][16] It most prefers limestone soils, but tolerates an array of conditions.Bees,butterflies, andflies feed upon it. Chicory is classified as adrought tolerant plant.[17]
Root chicory (Cichorium intybus var.sativum) has long been cultivated in Europe as acoffee substitute.[21] The roots are baked, roasted, ground, and used as an additive, especially in theMediterranean region (where the plant is native). As a coffee additive, it is also mixed inIndian filter coffee and in parts of Southeast Asia, South Africa, and the southern United States, particularly inNew Orleans. In France, a mixture of 60% chicory and 40% coffee is sold under the trade nameRicoré. It has been more widely used during economic crises such as theGreat Depression in the 1930s and duringWorld War II in Continental Europe. Chicory, withsugar beet andrye, was used as an ingredient of theEast GermanMischkaffee (mixed coffee), introduced during the "East German coffee crisis" of 1976–1979. It is also added to coffee inSpanish,Turkish,Syrian,Lebanese andPalestinian cuisines.[22]
Some beer brewers use roasted chicory to add flavor tostouts (commonly expected to have a coffee-like flavor). Others have added it to strong blond Belgian-style ales, to augment thehops, making awitloofbier, from the Dutch name for the plant.
Inulin is mainly found in the plant familyAsteraceae as a storage carbohydrate (e.g.Jerusalem artichoke,dahlia, andyacon). It acts asdietary fiber in the human gut[24] and is added to food such as yogurts as a 'prebiotic'.[25] It is mildly sweet, with 10% of the sweetening power of sucrose.[26] It can be hydrolyzed to producefructose, an industrially useful sweetener.[27]
Fresh chicory root may contain 13–23% inulin as a percentage of its total carbohydrate content.[28] Chicory cultivars for inulin production are derived from root chicory.[27]
While edible raw, wild chicory leaves usually have abitter taste, especially the older leaves.[29] The flavor is appreciated in certain cuisines, such as in theLigurian andApulian regions ofItaly and also in the southern part of India. In Ligurian cuisine, wild chicory leaves are an ingredient ofpreboggion and in the Apulian region, wild chicory leaves are combined withfava bean puree in the traditional local dishfave e cicorie selvatiche.[30] InAlbania, the leaves are used as a spinach substitute, mainly served simmered and marinated in olive oil, or as ingredient for fillings ofbyrek. In Greece a variety of wild chicory found inCrete and known asstamnagathi (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 besautéed with garlic,anchovies, and other ingredients. In this form, the resulting greens might be combined withpasta[31] or accompany meat dishes.[32]
Chicory may be cultivated for its leaves, usually eaten raw assalad leaves. Cultivated chicory is generally divided into three types, of which there are many varieties:[33]
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 fromTreviso (known asradicchio rosso di Treviso),[34][35] fromVerona (radicchio di Verona), andChioggia (radicchio di Chioggia), which are classified as anIGP.[36][clarification needed] It is also common in Greece, where it is known asradiki and mainly boiled in salads, and is used in pies.[citation needed]
Witloof, Belgian endive
Belgian endive is known inDutch aswitloof orwitlof ("white leaf"),indivia in Italy,endivias in Spain, chicory in the UK, as witlof inAustralia,endive in France and Canada, andchicon in parts of northern France, inWallonia and (in French) inLuxembourg.[37] 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 exportschicon/witloof to over 40 countries. The technique for growing theseblanched endives was accidentally discovered in the 1850s at theBotanical Garden of Brussels inSaint-Josse-ten-Noode, Belgium.[38] Today France is the largest producer of endive.[39]
Catalogna chicory (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum), also known aspuntarelle, includes a whole subfamily (some varieties from Belgian endive and some from radicchio)[40] 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.[41]
Chicory is highly digestible forruminants and has a low fiber concentration.[44] Chicory roots were once considered an "excellent substitute foroats" for horses due to their protein and fat content.[45] Chicory contains a low quantity of reduced tannins[44] that may increase protein utilization efficiency in ruminants.[citation needed]
Some tannins reduce intestinal parasites.[46][47] Dietary chicory may betoxic to internalparasites, with studies of ingesting chicory byfarm animals having lowerworm burdens, leading to its use as aforagesupplement.[48][49][50] Although chicory might have originated in France, Italy and India,[51] much development of chicory for use with livestock has been undertaken in New Zealand.[52]
Forage varieties include:
'Puna' ('Grasslands Puna'): Developed in New Zealand,[53][54] Grasslands Puna is well adapted to different climates, being grown fromAlberta,Canada,New Mexico,Florida to Australia.[55] 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.[56]
'Forage Feast':[57] A variety from France used for human consumption and also for wildlife plots, where animals such as deer might graze.[55] It is resistant to bolting.[58] 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.[55]
'Oasis':[59] was bred for increased lactone rates for the forage industry, and for higher resistance to fungal diseases such asSclerotinia (mainlys. minor andS. sclerotiorum.[60])
'Puna II': This variety is more winter-active than most others, which leads to greater persistence and longevity.[55]
'Grouse':[55] A New Zealand variety, it is used as a planting companion for foragebrassicas. 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.[59] It is very similar to Puna.
Others varieties known include; 'Chico', 'Ceres Grouse', 'Good Hunt', 'El Nino' and 'Lacerta'.[58]
The plant has a history reaching back to ancient Egypt.[61] In ancientRome, a dish calledpuntarelle was made with chicory sprouts.[62] It was mentioned byHorace in reference to his own diet, which he describes as very simple:Me pascunt olivae, me cichorea levesquemalvae ("As for me, olives, endives, and light mallows provide sustenance").[63] Chicory was first described as a cultivated plant in the 17th century.[64] 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 intoPrussia, leading to the development of a coffee substitute byBrunswick innkeeper Christian Gottlieb Förster (died 1801), who gained a concession in 1769–70 to manufacture it in Brunswick andBerlin. By 1795, 22 to 24 factories of this type were in Brunswick.[65][66]Lord Monboddo describes the plant in 1779[67] as the "chicoree", which the French cultivated as apot herb. InNapoleonic Era France, chicory frequently appeared as anadulterant in coffee, or as a coffee substitute.[68] Chicory was also adopted as a coffee substitute by Confederate soldiers during theAmerican Civil War, and has become common in the U.S. It was also used in the UK during World War II, whereCamp Coffee, a coffee and chicory essence, has been on sale since 1885.[69]
In the U.S., chicory root has long been used as a coffee substitute in prisons.[70] By the 1840s, theport of New Orleans was the second-largest importer of coffee (after New York).[68] Louisianans began to add chicory root to their coffee whenUnion naval blockades during the American Civil War cut off the port of New Orleans, thereby creating a long-standing tradition.[68]
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.[71][72]
The chicory flower is often seen as inspiration for the Romantic concept of theBlue Flower (e.g. in German languageBlauwarte ≈ blue lookout by the wayside). Similar to the springwort and moonwort, it could open locked doors, according to Europeanfolklore.[73][74] 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.[74]
Chicory was also believed to grant its possessor invisibility.[74]
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