Chicory

Cicorium intybus

Height:
Up to 1.4m (5ft) when flowering.
Suitable for:
Rich soil in full sun.
Summary:
Chicory is a leafy perennial herb, which reaches up to 1.4m high when flowering. Flower spikes arise from a clump of foliage from mid summer onwards and florets of the most perfect sky blue are arranged along them.
Chicory: Cicorium intybus

Chicory leaves have a bitter astringent taste and mix well with other salad leaves. They also pair well with ‘sweet’ salad ingredients suh as tomato and grapes.

Chicory and Tomato Salad with Herbs

Chicory leaves have a bitter astringent taste and mix well with other salad leaves. They also pair well with 'sweet' salad ingredients such as tomato and grapes.

Mix halved cherry tomatoes and halved seedless white grapes with chicory leaves which have been shredded finely. Finish the salad with a french dressing and a sprinkling of chopped sweet herbs such as marjoram or oregano.


The roots of cultivated chicory are used to provide ground chicory, which is used as an additive to some coffees especially on the Continent. The roots are kiln-dried, roasted and then ground and when infused, chicory gives the coffee a bitterish taste and a dark colour. It is particularly popular in France and Belgium where coffee-chicory mixtures abound and chicory may even be brewed alone.