THE EDIBLE OUTDOORS #17 – Chicory
Chicory is one of those common plants in certain areas that many of us may have driven past thousands of times without ever paying too much attention to. Recently, I started paying more attention.
IDENTIFICATION
Chicory is a perennial that is a member of the Dandelion Family. Young plants look quite similar to Dandelions before they get their flowers. Check out these two leaves.
The top one is Chicory and the bottom one is Dandelion. They certainly do not look too different. Once the Chicory plant grows though, the differences become more apparent. Chicory will send multiple branchy stems upwards, which will each have several flowers bloom on it.
The flowers are usually a light blue or purple color. Once you’re familiar with the plant, it’s hard to confuse with others.
USES
The most common use that people seem to be aware of for Chicory is to use the root as a Coffee substitute. The root is usually dried and roasted first, and some people even bend it in with Coffee. The leaves of Chicory are edible greens, and the root can be used as a vegetable.
The greens are best in the spring, when they are still mild. Like many lettuces, the heat of summer will make the Chicory leaves taste very bitter, though they are still edible. The leaves can be enjoyed raw, either while foraging or mixed into a salad, or they can be cooked or boiled. The ones I picked recently were very bitter even when cooked. Completely edible and I was not poisoned, but still bitter.
Chicory has been used medicinally to some degree as well.
NUTRITION
Nutritionally, Chicory is best as a source of Vitamin A and Vitamin C. It also provides some Magnesium, Iron, and Calcium.
PROPAGATION
Chicory is a perennial, so it’ll come back next year. New plants can be started from seeds. If you can’t find some growing in the wild, the seeds are easily available online. However, in the wild they are often not that hard to find. I've seen them all along many rural roadways in Wisconsin and Arkansas, and even along the streets in cities like Branson and Springfield, MO.
Here's previous THE EDIBLE OUTDOORS posts:
- 1-Common Yellow Wood Sorrel
- 2-Lamb’s Quarters
- 3-American Gooseberry
- 4-Stinging Nettle
- 5-Sassafras
- 6-Creeping Charlie
- 7-Dandelion
- 8-Plantain
- 9-Mint
- 10-Garlic
- 11-Purslane
- 12-Elderberry
- 13-Prickly Pear Cacti
- 14-Wild Lettuce
- 15-Passionfruit
- 16-Alfalfa
excellent post @papa-pepper, my wife is good in collecting herbs, there is always many herbs in our house, which she added to tea or make different tinctures, which she uses for cosmetics. by the way there is a chicory salad, which can be grown in the garden, it has biger leaves and it is not as bitter as a wild
my wifes treasures
Yeah, I've heard of the "chicory salad" as well, but never tried it. I like the picture of your wife's treasures. We've got some places that have almost looked like that before. We're a little tight on room at the moment though, so I might build a solar dehydrator soon.
I tried it with coffee before. Often, rather than a substitute, it'll be used in the grinds to complement the flavor. I found it lacking, personally, and never tried it again after the first time. I think it's still sitting in a cupboard somewhere.
Didn't know about the other applications though. Thanks!
I didn't know about the other uses either. I think I'll try the root cooked as a vegetable soon, but they are difficult to get out of the hard earth around here. It seems many people enjoying combining it with coffee as opposed to a complete substitute. I like flavoring coffee and will often put my morning coffee grounds on top of my evening tea blend from the night before to sweeten it. It works really well. Thanks for the input!
Please keep these coming, I have several books, but the images are not always good.
My images are always fresh, often less than a day or two old, so I hope that they help.
It's a great and nutritious hobby, so I'm glad to get a chance to experience it and share.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT!
Enjoyable read, so you get my vote... and a follow for future articles. I too have a comprehensive herb garden which I am going to trash and revamp into a mix of vegetable and herbs. There is only some much herbs two people can consume {smile}
Right about the limited herb consumption. I think we've got a ridiculous amount of Basil this year, but we're creative. I linked all the previous articles too, so feel free to let me know what you think. They vary and I'm still developing my skills, but people seem to be enjoying them.
Will pour myself a glass of wine and enjoy the read !
Thanks! I certainly hope that you will enjoy them.
Great series of posts. I've been going back and reading the older Edible Outdoors posts that I missed. Very enjoyable and informative.
I appreciate that, and I'm glad that you are getting something out of them. I am certainly enjoying making them.
I noticed the dandelion had a red vein/stem in the middle and the chicory did not. I had no idea you could eat the greens! I have purchased chicory root for adding to my coffee in the past, but never used it as a substitute entirely. Also, how would I prep and cook the root? Thanks!
Dandelion can have lines either color, and I think you could just fry the root in some butter, but haven't tried it yet.
ah, ok! Thank you and thank you for the cooking idea :)
You are welcome.