Have you been driving along the road lately and noticed a blue flower that just seems to grow up through the gravel?
Personally, I find this small flower attractive, and I think you will find my research interesting. A friend from church asked me about this flower and wondered about the value of this weed.
He heard that chicory was used to make coffee during World War II. One can find this blue flower in many places, not just by the road. During World War II, it was difficult to get coffee beans in Germany and the U.S.
One coffee entrepreneur, J.J. Darboven of Hamburg, Germany, provided a coffee substitute called Koff that contained both roasted chicory roots and acorns. It is said this coffee had a hint of chocolate in each cup.
One of the odd things I learned while in college many years ago about the term “weed” is that its definition is far more subjective than the iron-clad idea that this plant or that plant is good or bad.
Common chicory or Cichorium intybus, is a perennial that is a member of the dandelion family. The last part of the name intybus is derived from the Egyptian name for January, which is when this plant is harvested in Egypt.
Recently, while I was going through a local greenhouse this spring, I found Chicory being cultivated in a 4-foot pot. The grower was asking $1.50 for the plant, and I came up with the money. Sounds strange to admit, but let’s take this a little further.
If you recall my column about dandelions a few months ago, you may say something is going on here about weeds. I would agree.
Frankly, as I’m studying weeds and what we define as weeds. Our use of herbicides and how, if we took another look at what we want to kill, may actually be very helpful.
Originally, chicory, coffeeweed, horseweed, or wild endive, among many names, was found only in the Mediterranean, and that is probably where you will find the most uses. Chicory was introduced here for cultivation as a salad green.
One of the trials is that chicory leaves can become a little bitter over time, but if that is what you are looking for in your salad, then this chicory may be the ticket.
If you were to blanch or specifically harvest the leaves when they are young, you will find that the leaves are not bitter at all. The Europeans call this plant, at this stage, Witloof chicory, a dish highly sought after in Europe.
If you have sweet items like cranberries or strawberries in your salad, you could counter that taste with a leaf of chicory. I’m sure, to some degree, I have found a number of recipes.
Using chicory as a salad green is similar to using dandelion or nasturtium as salad greens.
Here are some of the common uses of chicory. You can roast chicory roots and use them as a coffee substitute or additive, potentially a chocolate flavor without caffeine.
These chicory roots can be eaten raw, boiled, dried, ground, or used as a seasoning. This same chicory, or horseweed, can be used as forage for your livestock and has been used as part of crop rotation.
The flowers you encounter, either blue or yellow, can be used to dye your clothes. Please talk to your doctor first before trying any folk medicine. Folk medicine has been a part of our heritage, and it is important to discuss it with your physician first before trying any folk medicine.
You can find many remedies for a variety of issues. For thousands of years, Europeans have used chicory tea for many ailments. Leaves of chicory have been crushed into a poultice and used as a skin anti-inflammatory and to promote wound healing.
Chicory contains a volatile oil called inulin. As a forage crop in pastures, this plant has been known to reduce internal parasites. In raw green chicory, you will find many essential vitamins and minerals, but what is outstanding is its high vitamin K content, at
283 percent of the recommended daily allowance.
In conclusion, chicory should be reclassified as a garden guest and not just a visitor, with benefits. If you can take a good look at it and retain it in your garden, you will see the benefits I do.
I hope you have a good stroll through your garden this week. If you have a question, please ask me, and I shall do my best to answer it if you send it to ericlarson546@yahoo.com.