Cichorium intybus

Cichory and witloof

Family Compositae (or Asteraceae)

Cichorium intybus, cichory and witloof (C. intybus 1), is a perennial herb, producing a branching flowering stem (C. intybus 2), up to 1 m high, bearing bright blue flower heads (C. intybus 3).

Distribution
Cichory is native from Europe to western Asia and is cultivated in the temperate regions.

Use
Cichory has been used as a salad since ancient times. The leaves, blanched to make them less bitter, are served with oil and vinegar.

To produce witloof, the seed is sawn in spring and in autumn the leaves are cut just above the root. The crowns (C. intybus 4) are covered with a layer of dry light soil, 20-30 cm thick. Young shoots develop within the covering soil and do not develop green pigments. These shoots are known as witloof, have broad leaves and wide midribs. They are eaten as a boiled vegetable or fresh in salads. The cultivation of witloof was developed in the mid-19th century in Belgium. In case the shoots develop without covering, green shoots develop (C. intybus 5), which are also eaten as a boiled vegetable.

Cichory is also used blended with coffee. The part used for this purpose is the root, which is chopped, roasted and ground. It adds some bitterness to the coffee.