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Adherents of proper nutrition and lovers of greens have long expanded the range of their culinary supplies. On their table, in addition to parsley and dill, green lettuce leaves also appear. There are a large number of varieties of this garden crop. For example, endive lettuce, which is available in two types - curly and broad-leaved. It has a spicy taste and rich composition.
Endive lettuce is widely grown in France and is also considered a popular green crop around the world.
What it is
Endive lettuce belongs to the green garden crops of the Chicory genus; it is also called lettuce chicory. In appearance, the plant is often confused with lettuce, but unlike it, endive has wider leaves with jagged, wavy edges. The leaf plates, adjacent to each other, form a pink head of cabbage.
Despite the fact that endive is called lettuce, it has nothing to do with this culture, but only superficially resembles it with its green leaves.If you carefully examine the plant, you will see that the endive leaf blades are less wide and undivided, like lettuce. In taste, they are distinguished by a slight bitterness, but this only gives them more piquancy.
On the market you can most often find two types of salad endives - curly and broad-leaved endive. Both species are represented by medium-sized heads with light green leaves tightly adjacent to each other. You can rarely find yellow and reddish cobs; such shades indicate that they belong to exotic varieties of endive (Mediterranean).
The piquant, bitter taste of chicory salad may be the reason for its low popularity among Russian culinary specialists. But due to its rich composition, nutritionists still recommend including it in the diet.
Composition and calorie content
Endive lettuce is a low calorie food. Its chemical composition contains practically no fats, but there is a lot of valuable fiber. The BZHU of the product is the following figures:
- proteins – 1.25 g;
- fats – 0.2 g;
- carbohydrates – 0.25 g.
The calorie content per 100 g of endive leaves is only about 16 kcal. But these are not all the advantages of this culture; chicory salad also surprises with its rich composition. It contains a large list of vitamins, minerals and other nutritional biologically active substances.
Vitamins:
- A;
- C;
- E;
- K;
- PP;
- many from group B.
Micro- and macroelements:
- iron;
- copper;
- zinc;
- manganese;
- potassium;
- calcium;
- magnesium.
And this is not a complete list of all useful substances, since the composition also contains acids important for the human body (arginine, valine, lysine, threonine, etc.). But one of the most valuable substances is considered to be intibin, which gives endive its bitter taste.
Benefits and harms
In addition to being low in calories, endive salad is also healthy due to its rich composition. Nutritionists recommend consuming smoothies, decoctions and fresh juices from green leaves to boost immunity and improve well-being.
Eating chicory is considered effective in preventing diabetes and cancer.
With regular inclusion of endive in the diet, you can notice the following positive effects on the body:
- normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract due to valuable dietary fiber, which stimulates digestion and cleanses the intestines;
- strengthens the cardiovascular system, as it contains the so-called “heart” minerals potassium and magnesium;
- increases the body’s protective functions due to a large number of important vitamins (A, group B, C);
- has a beneficial effect on vision;
- improves skin condition;
- helps strengthen the nervous system.
Endive lettuce's long list of health benefits does not make it completely safe to eat. Like any product, green leaves have a number of contraindications. You should avoid using it if you experience an allergic reaction, as well as with individual intolerance. Pregnant and lactating women, children under three years of age, and people suffering from acute gastrointestinal diseases should eat greens with extreme caution.
How they eat
Endive salad can be consumed as an independent product or as part of various dishes.But before you cook the green leaves, you need to select and prepare them correctly.
Choose salad chicory that is exclusively fresh, without signs of wilting. The leaves should fit tightly together and their color should be bright. After purchasing or cutting from the garden, the heads of cabbage are thoroughly washed under running cool water.
It is best to use the inside of the head of cabbage for cooking, as the outer, darker leaves are very bitter. In addition, the bitterness of the product is also affected by the age of the plant; the younger the salad, the less bitter it is.
It is not recommended to cut endive leaves, as a lot of juice will be released. It is best to tear them with your hands before using. Seasoning with sauce, vegetable oil or citric acid should also be done before serving so that the appearance of the product does not deteriorate.
If the salad has wilted slightly, you can restore its crispness by soaking it in ice water for 8-10 minutes.
Growing endive lettuce
You can grow endive lettuce both in open ground and on the windowsill at home. But it requires compliance with special agrotechnical rules. The plant does not like high temperatures, and due to exposure to a large amount of sunlight, the leaves begin to become very bitter.
Growing endive lettuce outdoors
In open ground, endive seeds are sown in the fall. Choose a shaded place; the soil should be neutral or slightly acidic. If the acidity is high, then lime should be added.
Before sowing, make furrows up to 2 cm deep. The distance between the rows should be at least 30 cm, the same as between the seeds in the furrow.If the distance between seedlings is less, then thinning should be done.
After sowing, the soil is well moistened by spraying; as it grows, watering must be done regularly, but excess moisture can lead to rotting of the bushes.
As it grows, you can carry out one-time fertilizing with complex fertilizers containing potassium and nitrogen. It is performed during the formation of heads of cabbage.
Growing endive lettuce on a windowsill
At home, chicory should be grown in spacious boxes. Seed consumption per 0.5 sq. m is about 1 g.
The growing container must have holes in the bottom. It is also necessary to organize a drainage layer. It is best to purchase a ready-made universal substrate. Sowing seeds is carried out according to the same principle as in open ground. First, moisten the soil well, then make a furrow and pour the seeds into it. The box is covered with film until the first shoots appear (covers are removed daily to remove condensation).
When seedlings appear, thinning is carried out; a distance of at least 20 cm should be maintained between plants. Watering is carried out as the soil dries.
Harvesting and storage
It takes about 50-55 days from planting to harvesting endive lettuce. If you do not remove the heads of cabbage during this time, the flowering process will begin, then the leaves will be quite bitter. Some varieties ripen in 60-70 days.
Harvesting is carried out by cutting at the root. If you need to prepare endive salad for the winter, then carefully dig up the bushes, trying not to damage the root system.Then they are placed in a box with sand and sent for storage in a dark room with a temperature of about +10 ºC.
Conclusion
Endive lettuce has a rich composition that makes it unique among other vegetable crops. Regular consumption of leaves will be an excellent support for the immune system, and will also improve the functioning of many organs and increase resistance to stress and the manifestation of apathy and depression.
