Endive, Escarole-Batavian Broad Leaf Escarole
72 in stock
Quick Overview
ENDIVE, ESCAROLE-Batavian Broad Leaf –
Chicorium endivia
FULL SUN Native to India and perhaps the Eastern Mediterranean, endive has been a food crop for millennia. The broad leaved varieties are known as Escarole. The curly leaved varieties are known as Frisee. Introduced before 1860, Batavian Broad Leaf is the most popular Escarole available in America. Plants produce round heads with creamy white hearts. Good for salads, soups and sautéed. Batavian Broad Leaf can be sown in the early spring for a summer crop and in early summer for a fall crop. In the spring, plant as soon as the ground can be worked. Soil should be deeply spaded before planting. Rows should be 24 in. apart. When seedlings are 2 in. high, thin, leaving 12 in. between plants. Adding lime to the soil before planting will sweeten the endive.
| Type | Spacing | Planting Depth | Days to Germination | Maturity |
| Escarole | 12 in. | 1 in. | 14-21 | 90 |
Endive, Escarole-Batavian Broad Leaf Escarole
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.
