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 Chicory
Cichorium intybus
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Edible Uses
Edible Parts: Flowers; Leaves; Root.
Edible Uses: Coffee.
Leaves - raw or cooked. The leaves are rather bitter, especially when
the plants are flowering. The leaves are often blanched by excluding light,
either by removing all the leaves and then earthing up the new growth, or by
covering the plant with a bucket or something similar. Whilst this greatly
reduces any bitterness, there is also a corresponding loss of vitamins and
minerals. The blanched leaves are often used in winter salads (they are known as
chicons) and are also cooked. The unblanched leaves are much less bitter in
winter and make an excellent addition to salads at this time of year. A
nutritional analysis of the leaves is available. Flowers - raw. An attractive
addition to the salad bowl, but rather bitter. Root - cooked like parsnip. The
boiled young roots form a very palatable vegetable. The root is said to be an
ideal food for diabetics because of its inulin content. Inulin is a starch that
cannot be digested by humans, it tends to pass straight through the digestive
system and is therefore unlikely to be of use to a diabetic. However, the inulin
can be used to make a sweetener that is suitable for diabetics to use.
Chicory-root is free of harmful ingredients, and is essentially a concentrated
combination of three sugars (pentose, levulose and dextrose) along with
taraxarcine (the bitter principle of dandelion). It is especially important as
source of levulose. Roots are used in seasoning soups, sauces and gravies, and
to impart a rich deep colour. The roasted root is used as a caffeine-free coffee
adulterant or substitute. Young roots have a slightly bitter caramel flavour
when roasted, roots over 2 years old are much more bitter.
Medicinal Uses
Appetizer; Bach; Cardiac; Cholagogue; Depurative; Digestive;
Diuretic; Hypoglycaemic; Laxative; Tonic; Warts.
Chicory has a long history of herbal use and is especially of great value for
its tonic affect upon the liver and digestive tract. It is little used in modern
herbalism, though it is often used as part of the diet. The root and the leaves
are appetizer, cholagogue, depurative, digestive, diuretic, hypoglycaemic,
laxative and tonic. The roots are more active medicinally. A decoction of the
root has proved to be of benefit in the treatment of jaundice, liver
enlargement, gout and rheumatism. A decoction of the freshly harvested plant is
used for treating gravel. The root can be used fresh or dried, it is best
harvested in the autumn. The leaves are harvested as the plant comes into flower
and can also be dried for later use. The root extracts have experimentally
produced a slower and weaker heart rate (pulse). The plant merits research for
use in heart irregularities. The plant is used in Bach flower remedies - the
keywords for prescribing it are 'Possessiveness', 'Self-love' and 'Self-pity'.
The latex in the stems is applied to warts in order to destroy them.
Other Uses
Biomass; Compost.
The roots have the potential to be used for the production of biomass for
industrial use. They are rich in the starch 'inulin' which can easily be
converted to alcohol. A blue dye has been obtained from the leaves[4]. The
flowers are an alternative ingredient of 'QR' herbal compost activator. This is
a dried and powdered mixture of several herbs that can be added to a compost
heap in order to speed up bacterial activity and thus shorten the time needed to
make the compost.
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