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The Chicory and the Endive The Europeans have used chicory as a salad ingredient and as an alternative to coffee for more than a century. In the United States, chicory has only become popular in the past few decades. Chicory and endive, although different, are all part of the same plant family, Cichorium. Endive has two forms, narrow-leaved, known as curly endive and broad-leaved known as escarole. The outside leaves of all endive are green and bitter. The inside leaves are light green to creamy white and are milder flavored. Chicory has three forms. Spring or cutting chicory, also known as Italian Dandelion, is grown for its leafy greens which are narrow and lancelike and resemble dandelion greens. Radicchio is a heading form of chicory. Radicchio forms
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The Caulifower Cauliflower is nearly identical to broccoli. The only differences are the colors and characteristics of the head. Cauliflowers are generally white, but there are purple, green, and yellow varieties. Also, cauliflowers do not develop smaller heads or side shoots once the main head has been harvested. The cauliflower is thought to have been cultivated 2000 years ago in the Eastern Mediterranean. By the 1300s, the vegetable was known in southern Europe, and by the 1400s, it was popular in northern Europe. In the United States, cauliflower did not become popular until the 1800s. In a 1848 seed catalogue it was written, “The Cauliflower is one of the most delicate and curious of the whole brassica tribe; the flower-buds forming a close, firm cluster or head, white and
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The Carrot The carrot grows wild throughout the Mediterranean and as far east as the Orient. The region around Afghanistan may have been where the first carrots originated and grew in shades of purple, red, or white. Yellow carrots were first recorded in Turkey in the 900’s. However, it was not until the 1600’s that the Dutch in Holland developed the first orange carrot. In the United States, there appears to have been little interest in the root-like vegetable. The 1848 Landreth catalogue only lists four carrots, two of which are for table use and the other two are suggested as feedstock for animals. The French became passionate about the orange vegetable and in the second half of the 19th century, the famous French seedhouse, Vilmorin-Andrieux, initiated
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The Cabbage In 1848, it was written, “The cabbage tribe is, of all the classes of cultivated vegetables, the most ancient, as well as the most extensive. The Brassica oleracea being extremely liable to sport or run into varieties or monstrosities, has in the course of time, become the parent of a numerous race of culinary productions, so various in their habit and appearance that to many it may not appear a little extravagant to refer them to the same origin.” In a few short phrases, it captured the essential essence of this incredible family of vegetables. The cabbage family, which includes broccoli, cauliflowers, Brussels sprouts, collards, kale, kohlrabi, turnips, and rutabaga, is one of the most ancient vegetable families known to man. The ability of brassica to
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The Brussels Sprouts Brussels Sprouts belong to the Brassica family of vegetables, the largest vegetable family known. This includes cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, collards, kale, kohlrabi, turnips, and rutabaga. The plant is believed to have developed from a form of kale-like wild cabbage. It was discovered and popularized in the 14th century near Brussels in Belgium. Brussels Sprouts suffer from a truly undeserved poor reputation. When prepared properly by gently steaming, Brussels sprouts have a sweet, nutty flavor and a crisp texture. If overcooked, Brussels sprouts produce a strong foul odor and become mushy in texture. An overcooked Brussels sprout is truly vile, while a steamed Brussels sprout topped with garlic butter or Hollandaise sauce is a gourmet delight. By the mid-19th century, Europe was enjoying the Brussels sprout,
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The Beet The beet is closely related to Swiss chard, another tall, leafy vegetable. Beet greens have been consumed by man since prehistoric times. The Romans enjoyed them this way and eventually found that they liked the roots when cooked. However, little else is known about the beet. During the 16th century, the beet began to grow in popularity in both Europe and the United States. It was known as the ‘Blood Turnip.’ In the 1848 Landreth Catalogue, six varieties of beet are offered, including three varieties of the ‘Blood Turnip,’ one Swiss Chard, one Silesian Beet (sugar beet), and the Mangel-wurtzel, which is a large-rooted white beet used for stock feeding. Beets are easy to grow if you remember that they strongly prefer cool or cold
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The Bean and the Cowpea Bean cultivation can be traced to the earliest vestiges of human civilization. Beans may have been the first vegetables that mankind learned to cultivate. Fava beans have been found in Neolithic excavations in Switzerland. Chickpeas, favas, and lentils have been found in Egyptian tombs, and the Chinese started growing soybeans around 1500 BC. However, many of the beans that we are familiar with today, like the common or kidney, lima, and runner bean, came from the Americas and were not introduced to Europe until the time of Christopher Columbus. The oldest archaeological evidence of common beans in the New World comes from Tehuacan, Mexico, and has been radiocarbon dated to 7000 BC. A 1848 seed catalogue featured 18 different varieties of beans
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How to grow Garlic Garlic, which is a member of the same family of plants as the onion, has been cultivated for millennia. As a cultivated plant, it is so old that it is difficult to credit a country of origin for this vegetable. Some historians believe that the onion was indigenous to southwest Siberia and spread to southern Europe, where it became naturalized. Currently, it is widely grown in all the Mediterranean countries. All modern garlic belongs to one of two subspecies: hardneck (ophioscorodon) or softneck (sativum). Hardneck subspecies try to produce flower stalks with small aerial cloves called bulbils. Hardnecks will not produce large bulbs underground unless the flower stalks are removed. There are three varieties of hardneck garlic: Purple Striped, Porcelain, and Rocambole. For
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How to grow Broccoli Broccoli belongs to the largest family of vegetables known as the Brassica family, which also includes cabbages, cauliflowers, Brussels sprouts, collards, kale, kohlrabi, turnips, and rutabaga. In fact, broccoli is nearly identical to cauliflower. The only differences between the two are the vegetables’ color and the fact that cauliflower tolerates heat, while broccoli does not. Fundamentally, there are two types of broccoli. The older variety is called sprouting broccoli, or asparagus broccoli, and belongs to the Italica group. There is also a heading variety, which belongs to the Botrytis group. The Italica variety is thought to have originated in the Eastern Mediterranean as a form of European wild cabbage. It made its way to Italy by the 17th century and spread to Northern
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How to grow Asparagus Asparagus has been a popular vegetable since ancient times. Roman chefs valued asparagus so highly that they dehydrated the stalks and kept them on hand throughout the year. Author Benjamin Watson wrote in his book, Heirloom Vegetables, that “One of emperor Augustus’s favorite sayings was…’Do it quicker than you can cook asparagus’,” referring to the Romans’ skill for handling this vegetable. Asparagus was also valued for medicinal applications. It was believed that an asparagus and oil liniment would prevent bee stings. For centuries, agriculturalists thought that there was only one variety of asparagus and that differences were attributed to individual growing environments. Eventually, this proved to be untrue, but it does point out the importance of local growing conditions for asparagus crops. Asparagus grows
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