Crop of the Week: Chicory
May 19, 2012 10:44 PM
• Like other specialty crops grown in the Yuma area, acreage
devoted chicory is minimal yet important one for those who produce and
use it.
• What Americans call endive, the British call chicory, and what the Americans call chicory, the British call endive.
• Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a hardy perennial that was brought to North America from Europe in the 1700s and is now well-established across the continent.
• Though chicory has a variety of uses, it's best known for its association with coffee. At many points through history, coffee has become unavailable or too costly. During these times, people often turned to roasted chicory as a substitute. There is no caffeine in chicory, and it produces a more “roasted” flavor than coffee does. Many coffee producers offer blends with up to 30 percent chicory; others enjoy a cup of “coffee” made entirely from ground, roasted chicory.
• The origins of adding chicory to coffee as a filler and flavor enhancer began as early as the 15th century. The tradition spread to the French, and it became common in parts of Europe where coffee could not be grown or because it was cheaper.
• For many years, chicory was used to stretch coffee supplies in the United States, especially in hard times such as the Civil War. Somewhere along the way, chicory became synonymous with New Orleans coffee, a blend of dark roasted coffee and chicory.
• Chicory also offers extra health benefits that you wouldn't normally get from your cup of coffee. It is reported to help cleanse the blood and improve the health of your liver. Chicory contains inulin, which may help humans with weight loss, constipation, improving bowel function and general health. Chicory helps the body to better absorb calcium and other minerals.
• Chicory is a perennial, with a tap root like the dandelion. The stems are 2 to 3 feet high, the lateral branches numerous and spreading, given off at a very considerable angle from the central stem. The flowers are blue-purple and will open and close at precisely the same time every day.
• The leaves are used in salads, for which they are much superior to dandelion. They may be cut and used from young plants but are generally blanched, as the unblanched leaves are bitter. The young blanched heads also form a good vegetable for cooking. The root can be boiled and eaten like a vegetable (it's related to endive and radicchio). It's also grown as cattle feed in Europe.
• Chicory lives as a wild plant on roadsides in its native Europe and in North America and Australia, where it has become naturalized.
Source: Kurt Nolte is an agriculture agent and Yuma County Cooperative Extension director. He can be reached at knolte@cals.arizona.edu or 726-3904.
• What Americans call endive, the British call chicory, and what the Americans call chicory, the British call endive.
• Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a hardy perennial that was brought to North America from Europe in the 1700s and is now well-established across the continent.
• Though chicory has a variety of uses, it's best known for its association with coffee. At many points through history, coffee has become unavailable or too costly. During these times, people often turned to roasted chicory as a substitute. There is no caffeine in chicory, and it produces a more “roasted” flavor than coffee does. Many coffee producers offer blends with up to 30 percent chicory; others enjoy a cup of “coffee” made entirely from ground, roasted chicory.
• The origins of adding chicory to coffee as a filler and flavor enhancer began as early as the 15th century. The tradition spread to the French, and it became common in parts of Europe where coffee could not be grown or because it was cheaper.
• For many years, chicory was used to stretch coffee supplies in the United States, especially in hard times such as the Civil War. Somewhere along the way, chicory became synonymous with New Orleans coffee, a blend of dark roasted coffee and chicory.
• Chicory also offers extra health benefits that you wouldn't normally get from your cup of coffee. It is reported to help cleanse the blood and improve the health of your liver. Chicory contains inulin, which may help humans with weight loss, constipation, improving bowel function and general health. Chicory helps the body to better absorb calcium and other minerals.
• Chicory is a perennial, with a tap root like the dandelion. The stems are 2 to 3 feet high, the lateral branches numerous and spreading, given off at a very considerable angle from the central stem. The flowers are blue-purple and will open and close at precisely the same time every day.
• The leaves are used in salads, for which they are much superior to dandelion. They may be cut and used from young plants but are generally blanched, as the unblanched leaves are bitter. The young blanched heads also form a good vegetable for cooking. The root can be boiled and eaten like a vegetable (it's related to endive and radicchio). It's also grown as cattle feed in Europe.
• Chicory lives as a wild plant on roadsides in its native Europe and in North America and Australia, where it has become naturalized.
Source: Kurt Nolte is an agriculture agent and Yuma County Cooperative Extension director. He can be reached at knolte@cals.arizona.edu or 726-3904.
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