Endive

Endive (Cichorium endivia) is a leafy plant cultivated for edible leaves that may be curly or broad. Its two main cultivated forms are curly endive and escarole.

Connect

Cichorium endivia: A species of flowering plant in the daisy family, cultivated for its edible leaves. This is the botanical species called endive.
Salad: A dish of raw or cooked ingredients, often including leafy vegetables. Raw endive leaves add bitterness and crispness to salads.
Common chicory: Cichorium intybus, a flowering plant cultivated for leaves, roots, and forcing into pale shoots. It is the closest culinary namesake, but it is a separate species.
Plant domestication: The process by which people change wild plants through cultivation and selective breeding. Cultivated endive reflects selection for useful leaf traits.
Curly endive: A cultivated form of Cichorium endivia with finely divided, curled leaves. It is the frilly-leaved form commonly sold as curly endive.
Cooking: The use of heat to prepare food for eating. Heat softens endive and mellows its bitter flavor.
Dandelion: A flowering plant in the daisy family whose young leaves are eaten as greens. Its bitter leaves make it a familiar culinary comparison for endive.
Cichorium: A genus of flowering plants that includes endive and common chicory. Endive’s genus contains several closely related cultivated plants.
Escarole: A broad-leaved cultivated form of Cichorium endivia, usually less bitter than curly endive. It is the broad-leaved form of the same species.
Blanching (horticulture): The exclusion of light from plant tissue to produce paler, often more tender growth. Growers blanch some endive leaves to reduce bitterness and lighten their color.