Chicory Cichorium

Chicory: A Field Guide

Chicory has many faces but one guarantee: Its leaves will add spunk to your salads.

Chicory includes two cultivated species. C. endivia mainly refers to curly frisée—that of whimsical salad fame—and broad-leafed escarole. C. intybus (aka common chicory) is the much more populated species and it features a host of chicories, including red chicory (radicchio), Belgian endive, French endive, and witloof (which is delicious blanched). Common chicory includes forcing types, and that’s when the extra fun begins. In fall, harvest plants, roots and all, give them a trim and force them to regrow in the dark. You’ll have bitter leaves for an exciting fall salad. Radicchio isn’t of the forcing sort; harvest it very young before it turns bitter.