Chicory

Chicory is traditional used for Appetizer; Cholagogue; Coffee; Digestive; Diuretic; Jaundice: Spleen; Tonic

---Description--- It is a perennial, with a tap root like the Dandelion. The stems are 2 to 3 feet high, the lateral branches numerous and spreading, given off at a very considerable angle from the central stem, so that the general effect of the plant, though spreading, is not rich and full, as the branches stretch out some distance in each direction and are but sparsely clothed with leaves of any considerable size. The general aspect of the plant is somewhat stiff and angular.

The lower leaves of the plant are large and spreading - thickly covered with hairs, something like the form of the Dandelion leaf, except that the numerous lateral segments or lobes are in general direction about at a right angle with the central stem, instead of pointing downwards, as in similar portions of the leaf of the Dandelion. The terminal lobe is larger and all the segments are coarsely toothed. The upper leaves are very much smaller and less divided, their bases clasping the stems.

The flower heads are numerous, placed in the axils of the stem-leaves, generally in clusters of two or three. When fully expanded, the blooms are rather large and of a delicate tint of blue: the colour is said to specially appeal to the humble bee. They are in blossom from July to September. However sunny the day, by the early afternoon every bloom is closed, its petal-rays drawing together. Linnaeus used the Chicory as one of the flowers in his floral Clock at Upsala, because of its regularity in opening at 5 a.m. and closing at 10 a.m. in that latitude. Here it closes about noon and opens between 6 and 7 in the morning.

---Synonyms--- The plant is cultivated and used as endive under the common names radicchio; Belgian endive; French endive; witloof; Succory; Wild Succory; Hendibeh; Barbe de Capucin; blue sailors; succory; coffeeweed; Wild chicory; of bile; the release of gallstones; and the elimination of excessive internal mucus; gastritis, lack of appetite, and digestive difficulties; to the glandular organs of the digestive system.

---Uses---The leaves are used in salads, for which they are much superior to Dandelion. They may be cut and used from young plants, but are generally blanched, as the unblanched leaves are bitter. This forced foliage is termed by the French Barbe de Capucin and forms a favourite winter salad, much eaten in France and Belgium. A particularly fine strain is known as Witloof, in Belgium, where smallholders make a great feature of this crop and excel in its cultivation. The young blanched heads also form a good vegetable for cooking, similar to Sea Kale.

Enormous quantities of the plant are cultivated on the Continent, to supply the grocer with the ground Chicory which forms an ingredient or adulteration to coffee. In Belgium, Chicory is sometimes even used as a drink without admixture of coffee. For this purpose, the thick cultivated root is sliced kiln-dried, roasted and then ground. It differs from coffee in the absence of volatile oil, rich aromatic flavour, caffeine and caffeotannic acid, and in the presence of a large amount of ash, including silica. When roasted, it yields 45 to 65 per cent of soluble extractive matter. Roasted Coffee yields only 21 to 25 per cent of soluble extract, this difference affording a means of approximately determining the amount of Chicory in a mixture.

When infused, Chicory gives to coffee a bitterish taste and a dark colour. French writers say it is contra-stimulante, and serves to correct the excitation caused by the principles of coffee, and that it suits bilious subjects who suffer from habitual constipation, but is ill-adapted for persons whose vital energy soon flags, and that for lymphatic or bloodless persons its use should be avoided.

---Cultivation---Chicory is a hardy perennial and will grow in almost any soil. For use as a salad, the plant may be easily cultivated in the kitchen garden. Sow the seed in May or June, in drills about 1 inch deep, about 12 inches apart, and thin out the young plants to 6 or 8 inches apart in the rows; when well up, water in very dry weather.

For blanching, dig up in October as many as may be needed, and after cutting off the leaves, it is well to let the roots be exposed to the air for a fortnight or three weeks; they should then be planted in deep boxes or pots of sand or light soil, leaving 8 inches between the soil and the top of the box. A cover of some sort is put on the box to exclude the light and the box put into a warm place, either in a warm green-house, under the stage, or, being so hardy, they may be successful in a moderately warm cellar and shed from which frost is excluded. Deprived of light, the young oncoming leaves become blanched and greatly elongated, and in this state are cut and sent to the market. If light is totally debarred, as it should be, the produce will be of a beautiful creamy white colour, soft and nearly destitute of the bitter flavour present when the plants are grown in the open air.

The fresh root is bitter, with a milky juice which is somewhat aperient and slightly sedative, suiting subjects troubled with bilious torpor, whilst, on good authority, the plant has been pronounced useful against pulmonary consumption.

A decoction of 1 OZ. of the root to a pint of boiling water, taken freely, has been found effective in jaundice, liver enlargements, gout and rheumatic complaints, and a decoction of the plant, fresh gathered, has been recommended for gravel.

Syrup of Succory is an excellent laxative for children, as it acts without irritation.

The old herbalists considered that the leaves when bruised made a good poultice for swellings, inflammations and inflamed eyes, and that 'when boiled in broth for those that have hot, weak and feeble stomachs doe strengthen the same.' Tusser (1573) considered it - together with Endive - a useful remedy for ague, and Parkinson pronounced Succory to be a 'fine, cleansing, jovial plant.'

Chicory when taken too habitually, or freely, causes venous passive congestion in the digestive organs within the abdomen and a fullness of blood in the head. If used in excess as a medicine it is said to bring about loss of visual power in the retina.

From the flowers a water was distilled to allay inflammation of the eyes. With violets, they were used to make the confection, 'Violet plates,' in the days of Charles II.

The seeds contain abundantly a demulcent oil, whilst the petals furnish a glucoside which is colourless unless treated with alkalies, when it becomes of a golden yellow. The leaves have been used to dye blue.

SWINE'S CHICORY (Arnoseris pusilla, Gaertn.), also known as Lamb's Succory, is a cornfield weed belonging to a closely related genus. All its leaves are radical, and it has small heads of yellow flowers on leafless, branched flower-stalks. It has no therapeutic uses.

To obtain roots of a large size, the ground must be rich, light and well manured.

---Part Used Medicinally---The root. When dried - in the same manner as Dandelion it is brownish, with tough, loose, reticulated white layers surrounding a radiate, woody column. It often occurs in commerce crowned with remains of the stem. It is inodorous and of a mucilaginous and bitter taste.

---Medicinal Action and Uses--- The juice of the leaves and a tea made from the flowering plant promote the production of bile, the release of gallstones, and the elimination of excessive internal mucus. They are also useful for gastritis, lack of appetite, and digestive difficulties. A decoction of the rootstock is said to be beneficial to the glandular organs of the digestive system. For painful inflammations, try applying the boiled leaves and flowers wrapped in a cloth.

Chicory has properties similar to those of Dandelion, its action being tonic, laxative and diuretic.

---Nutrient Source--- Uses: Coffee, salad, cooked green. The roots make an excellent coffee substitute, (without the caffeine), when roasted in an oven until dark brown and brittle, ground, and prepared like coffee; use roughly 1-1/2 teaspoons chicory for each cup of water. The very young leaves can be eaten fresh in salads and the older, bitter leaves can be boiled in several waters and eaten.

Nutrients (Per 100 grams)
Calories - 20	Niacin - 0.5 mg.	Riboflavin - 0.10 mg.
Calcium - 86 mg.	Phosphorus - 40 mg.	Thiamin - 0.06 mg.
Fat - 0.3 grams	Potassium - 420 mg.	Vitamin A - 4.000 IU
Iron - 0.9 mg.	Protein - 1.8 grams	Vitamin C - 22 mg.

Â ---References--- “Healing Herbal Teas” A Complete Guide to Making Delicious, Healthful Beverages. By – Brigitte Mars, A.H.G. ISBN - 13: 978-59120-110-6 and ISBN – 10: 1-59120-110-1 Copyright 2006

Ø Recipe: Chicory's leaves are still used today in typical Roman recipes: it's common in Roman restaurants to eat dishes with boiled chicory leaves, olive oil and lemon juice (fried with garlic and red pepper).

Ø Recipe: Chicory, with sugar beet and rye was used as an ingredient of the East German Mischkaffee (mixed coffee), introduced during the 'coffee crisis' of 1976-9

Ø Recipe: As with dandelion, the young tender leaves are used in summer salads or blanched as a vegetable. But—again as with dandelion—use the plant before the flowers form, otherwise it will taste too bitter.

Ø Recipe: Coffee – The root has been used for centuries as “coffee” or a coffee extender in the same way as described for dandelion root. Dian Dincin Buchman first came across chicory coffee in the French Quarter in New Orleans. It is quite bitter but, like the dandelion, is also a mild tonic, a liver cleanser, and is slightly laxative and mildly diuretic (releases retained fluids).

As you undoubtedly know by now, true coffee is not only expensive, but should be used only in moderation. There seems to be a connection between high coffee intake and heart attacks. You should not drink coffee if you have high blood pressure, and it is a virtual poison for arthritis and other systemic disease sufferers. (Oddly enough, coffee enemas help to depoison and detoxify the body. Don’t use them too often; the action is immediate and strong.)

Use all sorts of herbal teas as coffee replacement. Learn to combine the various mints along with cloves, a dash of cinnamon, and nutmeg. Use honey and vanilla extract (there are some wonderful pure ones on the market) with these teas, or with linden, which makes another fine herbal drink. Chamomile will relax you and overcome spasms.

Ø Recipe: Besides using the leaves of chicory for salads or a cooked green, and the root for a hot beverage, there is still another unique and charming use for chicory—this time for the flowers. Pick them early in the day, and let them soak in fresh water in the sun. Strain the liquid. Store the essence of the water, and add a few drops of it to the tea of those who are on a crying jag, or unduly possessive and overcritical of other! Chicory is an integral part of the (Dr. Edward) Bach Flower Remedies.