Endive
Leafy vegetable
Endive (/ˈɛndaɪv, -dɪv, ˈɑːndiːv/) is a leaf vegetable belonging to the genus Cichorium, which includes several similar bitter-leafed vegetables. Species include Cichorium endivia (also called endive), Cichorium pumilum (also called wild endive), and Cichorium intybus (also called chicory). Chicory includes types such as radicchio, puntarelle, and Belgian endive.
There is considerable confusion between Cichorium endivia and Cichorium intybus.
01Cichorium endivia
There are two main varieties of cultivated C. endivia chicon:
- Curly endive, or frisée (var. crispum). This type has narrow, green, curly outer leaves. It is sometimes called chicory in the United States and is called chicorée frisée in French. Further confusion results from the fact that frisée also refers to greens lightly wilted with oil.
- Escarole, or broad-leaved endive (var. latifolia), has broad, pale green leaves and is less bitter than the other varieties. Varieties or names include broad-leaved Batavian endive, grumolo, scarola, and scarole. It is eaten like other greens, sauteed, chopped into soups and stews, or as part of a green salad. In parts of Southern Italy, escarole is commonly cooked through smothering, and at Christmas in Naples is eaten stuffed with raisins, pine nuts, olives, capers, cheese and breadcrumbs.
02Cichorium intybus
Cichorium intybus endive is popular in Europe, and is also known as leaf chicory.
03Chemical constituents
Endive is rich in many vitamins and minerals, especially in folate and vitamins A and K, and is high in fiber. It also contains kaempferol.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Endive”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Cichorium endivia - Botanischer Garten Mainz IMG 5453.JPG by Oceancetaceen - Alice Chodura, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Cicoria-otrantina.jpg by Angelo Signore, CC BY-SA 3.0
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