Endive - Belgian salad

In common language, endive means a type of "salad" (leaf vegetable) with an open "clump" or "sprout" shape; the endive is white, yellow and (only at the top of the head) tending to green.

The endive is a typical vegetable of the Mediterranean basin and, in Italy, it is widely consumed both raw (in salad), and cooked (boiled, Roman and stuffed). In the botanical classification, the endive is placed in the Asteraceae family and in the Genus Cichorium, while the proper name of the Species corresponds to Cichorium endivia L.

The most common varieties of endive differ in latifolium, or rather called scarlet, and crispum, known as riccia . There is a variety of endive which, through a process of "forcing or artifact", acquires a "stem" or "cigar" shape, a crunchy consistency, and a sweeter but less bitter taste; it is the Belgian endive or Brussels chicory .

Below, we will better describe the most popular endive types1.

Curly endive

The curly endive is characterized by broad leaves, with an irregular margin and white, yellow and green color; it has a crunchy texture and a bitter taste. It differs in early and late species:

Early curly endive: Riccia of Italy, Riccia romanesca, Riccia cuor d'oro and Mantovana
Late curly endive: Riccia in winter, red from Moncalieri with white or pink coast.

Escarole endive

It is a variety of autumn-winter endive.

The escarole produces a "rosetta" head with elongated green leaves with an internal toothed margin, which have evident white veins. Autumn endive varieties form larger heads, open and with long leaves, while winter ones are smaller and have shorter leaves and closed heads. Some types of endive endive are really peculiar and deserve to be described more precisely:

Endive of Bergamo: it is an endive typical of the area around the walls of the Upper Town of Bergamo and is distinguished from the other varieties by the particular process of "whitening" of the inner leaves. After sowing in July, in October it is tied to allow the internal leaves to remain totally sheltered from the light; with the onset of cold, the endive plants are then transferred to the basements and left to mature.
Radicchia endive of Lucca: it is a variety of endive limited to the province of the city of Lucca which assumes an intense green color and can be used both raw and cooked.

Nutritional composition of the Endive - INRAN Food Composition Tables

Nutritional values (per 100 g of edible portion)

Edible part		69, 0%
water		93, 0g
Protein		0, 9g
Lipids TOT		0.3g
	Saturated fatty acids	- g
	Monounsaturated fatty acids	- g
	Polyunsaturated fatty acids	- g
	Cholesterol	0, 0mg
TOT Carbohydrates		2, 7g
	Starch	0.0g
	Soluble sugars	2, 7g
Dietary fiber		1.6g
Power		16, 0kcal
Sodium		10, 0mg
Potassium		380, 0mg
Iron		1, 7mg
Football		93, 0mg
Phosphorus		31, 0mg
Thiamine		0.05 mg
Riboflavin		0, 30mg
Niacin		0.5mg
Vitamin A		213, 0μg
C vitamin		35, 0mg
Vitamin E		- mg

Belgian endive or Brussels chicory

The Belgian endive or Brussels chicory is a variety of chicory that undergoes a particular process of forcing or artifact. His discovery took place in the city of Brussels (XIX century AD) in a completely casual way: a farmer left chicory roots in the cellar and realized that these sprouted with almost totally white leaves; later, the variety was improved by a botanist and marketed for the first time in France.

It is therefore possible to produce Belgian endive at home by following this procedure: 1. Take the roots with the roots from the ground and leave them stacked for 4-5 days in the open air; 2. Remove all the green leaves and shorten the roots; 3. Place the leaves in defoliated standing and side by side inside a caisson with river sand; 4. Place the box in a dark room with a temperature between 5-10 ° C; 5. To improve productivity, gradually increase the temperature and ventilate the room periodically.

Nutritional characteristics

Endive is a vegetable with a very modest energy supply; it contains very little fats, proteins and carbohydrates, while it boasts an excellent quantity of water, fiber (in particular inulin), mineral salts and vitamins.

Among the contributions of mineral salts stand out the content of potassium, iron and calcium, while on the water-soluble vitamins there is no lack of riboflavin (vit. B2), niacin (vit. PP) and ascorbic acid (vit. C); among the fat-soluble vitamins we can appreciate a remarkable intake of equivalent retinol (carotenoids - pro vit. A).

Belgian Salad and Speck Rolls

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Bibliography:

Vegetables in Italy - L. Cabrini, F. Malerba - Italian Touring Club - page 99
Food composition tables - National Research Institute for Food and Nutrition (INRAN).