With sky-blue ray flowers, the chicory spreads its rural charm in the garden during the summer flowering period. As the ancestor of chicory, endive and radicchio, all parts of the traditional cottage garden plant are edible. We have put together tips for culinary use for you here.
Which parts of the chicory are edible?
All parts of the chicory are edible: delicate leaves are suitable for salads or vegetable dishes, flowers can serve as edible decorations or candied sweets and its roasted roots can be prepared as an aromatic coffee substitute.
This is how the leaves spice up the menu
If you are still missing a fresh ingredient for the crisp salad in spring, the chicory with its tender leaves is there. If the foliage becomes a little stronger during the flowering period, you can use it to prepare a very he althy vegetable that makes you forget about traditional spinach. If you soak the leaves in water for 2 hours beforehand, the bitter substances are reduced and the taste is particularly mild.
Flowers are much more than just a feast for the eyes
The flowers of a chicory are truly early risers. From 5 a.m. the basket flowers open to look longingly east towards the rising sun. The light blue flowers remain open until shortly before midday. In order to use the edible flowers, they are harvested in the early morning hours. How to use the floral decoration in the kitchen:
- As an edible decoration for cold and warm dishes
- Candied as a sweet treat for in between meals
- Dipped in liquid chocolate as a seductive flower praline
Do not throw away the flower stems. Briefly blanched in water and then fried in dough, the stems transform into a natural delicacy.
Roots serve as an aromatic coffee substitute
As early as the 18th century, resourceful farmers discovered out of necessity that the roots of a chicory could be used to produce an aromatic hot drink as a substitute for the very expensive and rare Arabic coffee. To this day, this coffee substitute is known as Muckefuck or country coffee.
The roots are peeled and chopped. Roasted in a pan with sugar and without fat, the pieces are ground last. Brew the resulting powder like coffee with boiling water.
Tip
The chicory is not only useful as an ornamental and vegetable plant. Thanks to its valuable ingredients, the floral all-rounder relieves various he alth problems in a natural way. Prepared as a tea, chicory stimulates the metabolism, cleanses the blood, relieves headaches, stomach pressure and lifts the mood.