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Culinary Dictionary
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| Category: Vegetables and fungi |
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Endive | ||
 Endive, also escarole, common name for a plant having a curly, lettuce like head, with inner leaves that are used in salads. The inner leaves of the plant are sometimes blanched by enclosing the head of the endive in its outer leaves (which normally fall away) or by covering the entire plant with a special tube of paper. The long blanched shoot of chicory is called Belgian or French endive, or witloof. Endive has a slightly bitter flavor, but the intensity of the bitterness varies depending on the cultivar of Cichorium endivia being grown and how it is handled. Origin: It is native to India, but is more widely cultivated in Europe and the United States, where endive is a popular salad green. History: In 19th century Belgium, a man who had forgotten his chicory roots in a cellar was amazed to discover them plump and covered with long yellowish leaves, which had grown in the dark, warm conditions. Curious, he tasted them, found they had a good flavor, and began to cultivate them. However, it is to another Belgian that we owe endive as it is eaten today; the botanist Brézier who developed it from coffee chicory, which had a small root. The market stalls of the capital began to display this new vegetable in 1846, and it quickly became known as Brussels endive. Nutrition Fact: Endive is rich in many vitamins and minerals, especially in folate and vitamins A and K, and is high in fiber. |