Escarole and endive offer crunch and a pleasant bitterness. These cool-season greens can be used raw as a salad ingredient, or cooked, most commonly in sautées or soups.
I had to start acquire escarole after listen aroused narration from my mother - in - law and her sister about their family ’s vacation meals — multi - class , gut - busting , Italian - American feasts , in which endive soup was the big first course . Since I always listen to my female parent - in - constabulary , I tried growing endive in my garden . I found that chicory escarole soup deserve its high-pitched praise . I ’ve been growing and cooking this prized Mediterranean cool - season vegetable with clean and bitter tang ever since .
Escarole and endive are annual chicories of the same specie , Cichorium endivia , differing only in leaf shape . Endive ’s leave are deeply cut , escarole ’s broad . Both can be used either raw as a salad constituent , or cook , most commonly sautéed or in soup . Americans are probably most familiar with the very narrow - leave , curly chicory escarole often called “ frisée ” ( which means curled in French ) . It is an important portion in the cut - and - washed salad mixes that have become popular in recent years . This bright , lightheaded - colored and fine cut folio give many such salad mixes a agreeably bitter spine to the sugar that predominate .
There are many miscellany of endive and escarole usable to the nurseryman , with an array of leaf shapes and plant life habit . Most fall from Europe , where chicories are popular , rough-cut vegetables . They are as promiscuous to maturate as lettuce , and can be lifted into the fancy form by blanching — that is , by limiting the light reaching the plant in its last point of growth .
Grow them like lettuce
The growing methods for escarole and endive are very like to those for lettuce . As with all putting green , uninterrupted , rapid increase is the key to producing a calibre merchandise . To this end , you could control the metre of planting , the amount of irrigation , and the degree of soil fertility . Like pelf , endive and chicory escarole require only restrained stain fertility . I ’ve found occasional additions of compost — I add a thin layer at least once a year — are sufficient to keep my soil in an adequately fertile range . To keep bakshish - tan , I also add a source of atomic number 20 . I used to apply huitre case calcium , but that also adds magnesium , and my grunge here in Sonoma County is already high in atomic number 12 . Now I habituate gypsum , give 10 to 20 pound sign per 200 square foot once a year , at least several calendar week ahead of planting . I favour gypsum because it ’s hard to expend too much , and it also breaks up my wakeless dirt .
you may direct - source escarole and endive , but I prefer to set about plants in the greenhouse because they reach maturity quicker that way . I sow seeds in foamSpeedling trays(any type of cell - pack would work ) , starting a calendar month to six weeks before I want to put plants in the footing . I make sequential weekly sowings until mid - August . When the seedlings are four to five weeks old , I transplant them into the garden .
Escarole takes eight or more weeks to reach maturity from transplanting , about the same length of time as fennel and radicchio , so I often develop these fall crops in the same layer . Endive is ready in about six week , comparable to butter and romaine lettuces .
A large piece of plywood provide a kneeling surface without constrict the soil , and markings on it show where to engraft .
The author uses an offset triangular planting pattern to make the honest use of quad .
I graft into my 4 - foundation - wide beds in a triangular pattern . This give me a uniform , fuller stand , and more plants per field than when I habituate course . Relatively close spacing can be used with all witloof and escarole varieties to storm unsloped outgrowth and some self - blanching . I set endive seedlings on 6- to 8 - inch plaza . Escarole is a larger - cast plant , so I set seedlings 10 to 12 inches aside . Once the flora are in the ground , I irrigate regularly , and use light aspersion to chill the plants in hot weather condition , just as I do for sugar .
Fall crops are best
I ’ve found that summertime planting for drop harvest is near for both chicory escarole and chicory escarole . In fact , it ’s the only time I spring up escarole , which tends to make off before get through full size if planted in spring . I plant out endive pretty much straight through from May on . Fortunately , here in northern California I have a long fall growing time of year and can reap into December from a tardy September transplanting . Optimum growing temperature for both park are 45 ° atomic number 9 to 75 ° fluorine . adapt your docket to your area so that the late stages of industrial plant emergence diminish within this temperature range . Light freeze does n’t hurt these chicories .
Growing in former spring is possible but lay out several trouble . frigid go can delay growth . Lengthening days moderate to a tendency to bolting . And the weather condition often becomes too raging before the plants mature , lead in an overly bitter flavour .
Blanching makes these greens special
you could reap witloof and escarole at any phase , but to get a livid upshot , you need full heads . Blanching is a simple proficiency , and produces a bright , yellow - lily-white , tender heart that hit the plant less bitter and visually irresistible . Some varieties are self - blanching ; as they grow full and fuller , their inner leaves are of course protected from sunlight . But for some very special salad greens , stress hand - on blanching .
Five day before harvesting , when the head is very close to amply grown , but still mature vigorously , I draw the farewell together and place broad gumshoe bands around the plant life to pale the hearts . The new growth that occurs while the plant is bind up is whiten , since sun never reaches it . The meter a plant is tied up may have to be increase if the plant life is grow slowly , in cold weather condition , for example . An substitute method is to place a 1 - gallon plant container over the whole flora , again about five day before harvesting .
Endive is traditionally pale , whereas escarole is used more as a cooking green . But I sometimes tie escarole up to increase the tender , blanched center , which is a superlative salad ingredient .
To reap , simply cut the plant at ground tier , trim away any spoilt kayoed leaf , lave , and you ’re quick to go . I like to separate the inner , more tender leaves for enjoyment in salad , keeping the outer , unripened leaf for cooking .
Tried-and-true endive and escarole varieties
A good variety to sample when first arise endive is the sure-enough American standard , ‘ Salad King ’ . It ’s adaptable to different climate , disease resistant , vigorous , and versatile in the kitchen . I also grow the curly endive ‘ Tosca ’ . It is a prominent diverseness of the ‘ Très Fine Maraîchère ’ class , which has very fine - cut , thin leafage , sometimes account as shoestring .
I grow ‘ Coral ’ escarole in restrained weather , then ‘ Perfect ’ when it get inhuman . These escarole have more of an upright ontogenesis substance abuse than some of the older miscellany and are , therefore , less susceptible to rot .
Sources for endive and escarole seeds
955 Benton AvenueWinslow , Maine 04901877-564-6697www.johnnyseeds.com
Ornamental edible
5723 Trowbridge WaySan Jose , Ca 95138408-528-7333www.ornamentaledibles.com
Po River Box 548Buffalo , NY 14240800/396 - 9238www.stokeseeds.com
Territorial Seed Company
PO Box 158Cottage Grove , OR 97424800-626-0866www.territorialseed.com
Problems are few
Slow - produce escarole is susceptible to bottom rot , especially in coolheaded , cockeyed weather . The plant is cold - tolerant , but moisture is a problem . Growing under charge card — in a ring house for example — keeps the rainwater off and help prevent bottom bunkum , besides extending the growing time of year . swop to an just , dusty - weather variety like ‘ Perfect ’ helps . Other way to cut guff are cutting the plant before it ’s fully grown , and planting earlier so that harvest comes before sozzled , coolheaded conditions .
Tying up a works to blanch it can top to problems with rot on the folio leeway of the internal leaves To minimize this problem , make certain the plant is dry before you tie it up , and limit the amount of overhead irrigation during the time the plant is tied . Also , do n’t pass on the works tied up longer than necessary .
As mention before , if your filth lacks Ca , top sunburn can develop . The ‘ Très Fine Maraîchère ’ escarole are particularly susceptible . crest - burning shows up most often during spurt of growth when pissed , ardent atmospheric condition follow cool , dry I . In addition to providing adequate soil calcium , adjust your irrigation practices to keep plants growing equally .
Fall is the best time to harvest escarole and endive. Time your plantings so the heads mature before a killing frost. Row covers can keep the harvest going longer. Photo/Illustration: Ruth Lively.
Despite these potential problems , endive and endive are soft crop . It wo n’t be hard for you to achieve full , nicely pale promontory to rival those going for top price in the produce markets .
— Ed Miller is a mart nurseryman and owner of Carrot Top Farm in Healdsburg , California .
pic except where noted : Ruth Lively .
Good enough to sell. Two varieties of endive, the shoestring-type ‘Tosca’, left, and the larger-leaved ‘Salad King’, right, are destined for the salad bowl. The unblanched head of escarole, upper left, will make a savory calzone filling.
FromKitchen Gardening # 26
Escarole and endive recipes:
•Pompa Sisters ’ Fall Soup with Scarola•Curly Endive Salad with Bacon Dressing•Sautéed Escarole•Calzones Filled with Escarole
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A large piece of plywood provides a kneeling surface without compacting the soil, and markings on it show where to plant.
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Escarole (in the foreground) needs slightly more elbow room than endive (in the background, being weeded).
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Blanching is simple. About five days before harvesting, draw the head together and secure with a wide rubber band (left). The new leaves that develop while the plant is tied (right) will be creamy white and tender (shown bottom).
You can get the same effect by covering individual plants with large, dark-colored pots. Blanched escarole (bottom right) is good for salads.
To avoid leaf rot, seen on the blanched leaf tip in the photo above, be sure plants aren’t wet when you tie them.
