General Information
A crisp, broadleaf variety of endive most often served as a salad green that is also known as escarole, broad chicory, or common chicory. This member of the chicory family has broad outer leaves with a crinkled shape. The leaves provide a slightly bitter taste, yet not as bitter as Belgian or curly endive. As the outer leaves are removed, the inner leaves display a paler green coloring with more white and a taste less bitter than the outer leaves. Escarole is popular as a salad green, eaten raw with mayonnaise or a vinaigrette dressing. When cooked, the greens are often served as a vegetable steamed or braised and can be added to soups for flavoring in the later stages of soup making.
History
True endives such as Escarole are believed to be native to Sicily and the Mediterranean region. It has been widely cultivated in England from at least the 1500s. It can be traced back to Greece, Rome, and Egypt where it was used as a salad green. There are mentions of it made by Pliny and the poet Ovid in ancient Roman documents. Compared to the narrow-leaved endive the wide-leaved Escarole is believed to be the eldest variety. Endive is grown today predominately in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States.
