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Endive ( or ), Cichorium endivia is a leaf vegetable
Leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, greens, or leafy greens, are plant leaf eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender Petiole s and shoots....
 belonging to the daisy family
Asteraceae

The family Asteraceae or Compositae is the largest family of flowering plants, in terms of number of species.The name 'Asteraceae' is derived from the type genus Aster , while 'Compositae', an older but still valid name, means composite and refers to the characteristic inflorescence, a special type of pseudanthium found in o...
. Endive can be cooked or used raw in salad
Salad

Salad is a mixture of cold or hot foods, usually including vegetables and/or fruits, often with a dressing, occasionally nuts or croutons, and sometimes with the addition of meat, fish, pasta, cheese, eggs, or whole grains....
s.

Endive is also a common name for some types of chicory
Chicory

Common chicory is a bushy perennial plant herb with blue, lavender, or occasionally white flowers. It grows as a wild plant on roadsides in its native Europe, and in North America, where it has become naturalized....
 (Cichorium intybus). There is considerable confusion between Cichorium endivia and Cichorium intybus.

Endive belongs to the chicory genus
Cichorium

Cichorium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The species are commonly known as chicory or endive – there are two cultivated species, and four to six wild species....
, which includes several similar bitter leafed vegetables. Species include endive (Cichorium endivia), Cichorium pumilum and common chicory (Cichorium intybus).






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Endive ( or ), Cichorium endivia is a leaf vegetable
Leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, greens, or leafy greens, are plant leaf eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender Petiole s and shoots....
 belonging to the daisy family
Asteraceae

The family Asteraceae or Compositae is the largest family of flowering plants, in terms of number of species.The name 'Asteraceae' is derived from the type genus Aster , while 'Compositae', an older but still valid name, means composite and refers to the characteristic inflorescence, a special type of pseudanthium found in o...
. Endive can be cooked or used raw in salad
Salad

Salad is a mixture of cold or hot foods, usually including vegetables and/or fruits, often with a dressing, occasionally nuts or croutons, and sometimes with the addition of meat, fish, pasta, cheese, eggs, or whole grains....
s.

Endive is also a common name for some types of chicory
Chicory

Common chicory is a bushy perennial plant herb with blue, lavender, or occasionally white flowers. It grows as a wild plant on roadsides in its native Europe, and in North America, where it has become naturalized....
 (Cichorium intybus). There is considerable confusion between Cichorium endivia and Cichorium intybus.

Endive belongs to the chicory genus
Cichorium

Cichorium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The species are commonly known as chicory or endive – there are two cultivated species, and four to six wild species....
, which includes several similar bitter leafed vegetables. Species include endive (Cichorium endivia), Cichorium pumilum and common chicory (Cichorium intybus). Common chicory includes chicory types such as radicchio
Radicchio

Radicchio is a leaf chicory , sometimes known as Italian chicory. It is grown as a leaf vegetable which usually has white-veined red leaves. It has a Bitter and spicy taste, which mellows when it is grilled or roasted....
, puntarelle and Belgian endive.

Endive is rich in many vitamins and minerals, especially in folate and vitamins A
Vitamin A

Vitamin A, a bi-polar molecule formed with bi-polar covalent bonds between carbon and hydrogen, is linked to a family of similarly shaped molecules, the retinoids, which complete the remainder of the vitamin sequence....
 and K
Vitamin K

Vitamin K denotes a group of lipophilic, hydrophobic vitamins that are needed for the posttranslational modification of certain proteins, mostly required for blood coagulation....
, and is high in fiber
Fiber

Fiber or fibre is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of yarn. They are very important in the biology of both plants and animals, for holding tissue s together....
.

There are two main varieties of cultivated endive:

  • Curly endive, or frisée (var crispum). This type has narrow, green, curly outer leaves. Sometimes called chicory in the United States
    United States

    The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
     and is called chicorée frisée in French. Further confusion results from the fact that frisée also refers to a technique in which greens are lightly wilted with oil.


  • Escarole, or broad-leaved endive (var latifolia) has broad, pale green leaves and is less bitter than the other varieties. Varieties or names include broad-leaved endive, Bavarian endive, Batavian endive, grumolo, scarola and scarole.

See also

  • Chicory


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