Endive or Chicory? It's a Bit Confusing

By Lynne Evans

There's some confusion regarding the name of the endive, as in Britain, it is called chicory, the name of the plant from which it originates. The endive is Cichorium endiva while that of chicory, the herb, is Cichorium intybus. If you buy endive and look up a British website for a recipe you will have to type in chicory, as this is what this torpedo-shaped lettuce is known as even by British chefs.

Chicory, the herb, has blue edible flowers that resemble those of a dandelion, and whose leaves can be used in salads. However, endive is a salad vegetable which can be eaten raw, boiled, cooked, steamed, grilled, baked and added to casserole. This nutty tasting leaf is very versatile.

The endive, or Belgian endive (pronounced either on-deev or en-dive) is a newcomer on the world's culinary stage as it was introduced to Paris in 1872 where it became a sensation and nicknamed "white gold." It was discovered 42 years earlier by Jan Lammers, a Belgian, who had, or so the story goes, left chicory roots to dry in his cellar, so that they would dry and he could roast them and grind them to make coffee, as was the custom. He went off to do his patriotic duty in the Belgian War of Independence, and on his return discovered that his dried chicory roots had produced white leaves. He tasted them and they were good and so he produced them although it took years to perfect the process.

The leaves make really good scoops for dips, and go well in salads. Because of their natural shape they can be stuffed with cream cheese mixtures, smoked salmon or caviar. If you are on a diet you'll be pleased to know that an endive leaf contains no calories. It does contain dietary fibre though which makes it doubly good for a weight loss diet.

Endives are 95% water but also contain potassium, a useful mineral as it helps the normal function of the nerves and muscles (so is a good mineral for those with erectile dysfunctions) and vitamins A (good for the eyesight) and vitamin C which boosts the immune system, among other health benefits it gives us.

You no longer have to buy the Belgian endive as there is now a Californian endive, although perhaps it should be called the American endive, as these leaves are only produced in one place in Rio Alto CA. Have a look for one nest time you go to your local supermarket and see what you think of "the truffle of lettuces" as they have been called.

http://www.herbs-treatandtaste.blogspot.com if you enjoyed this article you might like to read more about other food, herbs and spices that we eat and use for medicines. There are recipes too which are usually a mixture of Asian and Mediterranean flavours. If you want to know more about endives and how they are grown hen check out this site which is the site run by the US growers. It's called Discover Endiveand it can be found at http://www.endive.com