A to Z of French Herbs - Chicory

Chicory Herb Flower

Can a herb be a herb, spice, vegetable, or salad? No some might say. Well, don’t tell Chicory that as it as it has so many varieties that if it was a person it would be diagnosed with multiple personality orders I think. Which variety of chicory do you know?

Chicory is spelled in French, Chicorée. It’s a herb that is native to Europe. Most types originated in the Mediterranean area and have been used as a food source for centuries. It is often seen as a wild plant along the sides of roads throughout Europe. But it is also grown now around the world in the USA, China, and Australia as well as other countries. 

Common chicory in the plant world is called Cichorium Intybus and is a woody, perennial herb that has usually bright blue flowers, but sometimes also has white or pink flowers. It’s a member of the Asteraceae family whose other members include sunflowers and daisies.

The herb variety when it’s flowering grows around 1.5 meters tall and isn’t the most attractive-looking plant as it has a tough, grooved, and hairy stem. In Europe, it will flower from March until October.

Endive

There are many different varieties of chicory and this is where we can get confused. Some varieties would be considered herbs to many, especially in French cuisine. But also some varieties are considered salads like the Endive and then also some are considered vegetables like chicory root.

Some of the common varieties of Chicory that you might know include endive, radicchio, radichetta, Belgian endive, French endive, red endive, sugar look, and witloof.

It’s thought the origins of chicory go back to ancient Egypt and that it was used often in cooking in Ancient Rome. In those times Horace a famous poet at the time of Caesar Augustus wrote that he only ate olives, endives, and mallows for sustenance.

Chicory is one of the oldest domesticated vegetables. The Ebers Papyrus (a medical treatise published around 1500 BC in Egypt) describes two types of chicory: field chicory from which we can eat the roots and garden chicory from which we can eat the leaves.

Radicchio another member of the Chicory family

Often the herb variety of chicory can be seen throughout France as it’s grown by many as a forage crop for livestock. Apparently, the foraging herb can lower instances of worms in livestock that feed on chicory.

Raw chicory leaves are about 92% water, 5% carbs, and 2% protein and contain significant amounts of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, some B vitamins, Magnesium, Vitamin E, and calcium, so it’s a pretty good herb/vegetable/salad to include in your diet.

For the salad version of chicory. There are two main varieties of chicory seen in French cuisine and one would be the endive which is featured in manly French dishes and is often cooked with ham and cheese. But also the variety called Curly Endive will often be seen in salads when it’s in season.

Chicory salad leaves varieties are able to be eaten raw and usually have a bitter taste. You can though cook it in water before using it in dishes which will then reduce the bitterness

Now in relation to the variety of chicory used in salads or as a vegetable the British call one thing and the Americans and French call another. So what the Americans call endive or endive the British call chicory and what the Americans call chicory the British call endive. Confused. Yep me too.

Chicory Coffee Substitutes

Now Belgian Endive or French Endive or Witloof as they are known, are in French just Endives. But what we might call Chicory when we think of salad leaves the French often call Curly Endive. But as far as I know, all are related to each other in some way or form so these differences in what’s called what well can be forgiven I think.

The root of the chicory plant is said to have a mild laxative effect and is used for medicinal purposes to decrease swelling, and indigestion and to treat high blood pressure amongst other conditions.

It also is used a lot in food manufacturing as a sweetener and a source of dietary fiber but possibly the biggest use of the root of chicory is in coffee substitutes. Many varieties of alternative coffee drinks use the root of chicory as their main ingredient.

In France, roasted chicory experienced a real boom in 1806, during the war against England. The blockade caused a shortage of coffee and Napoleon promoted the development of chicory culture in the North to replace coffee. It was then known as the coffee of the poor.

Now in France, you can buy Ricore which is an instant coffee product containing 33.2% instant coffee and 63% chicory root. French drink Ricore with milk and a little hot water. Ricore is part of the Nestle group.

Chicory it’s thought was started to be used as a coffee substitute during the Great Depression in the 30s and then again during world war 2. During the East German coffee crisis that was an actual thing apparently Mischkaffee was born which was a mixture of chicory, sugar beet, and rye.

In other parts of Europe the root is used in the process of making stouts and beers but also many different cuisines in Europe cook the root like you would a parsnip. Chicory in all its forms is so popular in France, particularly the North de France, to the point of being one of the symbols of the region. French production each year is around 80,000 tons.

One of the things I found out about the chicory plant whilst researching was the beautiful name it was once given the Fiancee du Soleil.  There is a legend of Elytra that a young woman was abandoned by the sun god and transformed into a chicory flower. As the sun rises and falls the flower opens dark blue in the morning and pales at noon to finally close as white in the evening. The flower now because of the legend of Elytra and transformation has become the symbol of fidelity.

This was the topic on Fabulously Delicious: The French Food Podcast and you can listen to the full episode via Spotify or Apple Podcasts on the links above or wherever you listen to podcasts.