The Complete Handbook of Chicory

Chapter 1: Understanding Chicory

The Whole Plant and Its Many Forms

Chicory, as a commercial crop, is not one product. It is a single species, Cichorium intybus, a member of the daisy family, but it is grown, harvested, and sold in at least four distinctly different forms that serve different markets and are handled in completely different ways. You can find chicory as the tight, pale, bullet-shaped bundles of leaves called Belgian endive, or witloof. It appears at the market as radicchio, those small, heavy heads of wine-red leaves with white ribs. It is the loose, tall, leafy bunches often sold simply as "chicory" or "sugarloaf." And it is also a field crop grown entirely for its large taproot, which is roasted and ground for a coffee substitute or blended a coffee additive. Understanding this single species and how these different forms are produced is the foundation for buying, selling, and growing any of them.

What connects these seemingly different products is the plant's habit and its chemistry. Cichorium intybus is a hardy perennial, though it is typically grown as an annual or a biennial in commercial production. Its most distinctive chemical attribute is the presence of bitter sesquiterpene lactones, particularly compounds like lactucopicrin and lactucin, which concentrate in the leaves and the root. These compounds are the source of chicory's characteristic bitterness. This bitterness is not a flaw; it is the plant's defining feature, and its management, either through cultivation techniques or through cooking, is a central concern