Cichorium intybus: a salad? No, a root!
𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘺𝘣𝘶𝘴 is the most widely cultivated chicory species due to its many uses in the food industry.
In the "hot beverage" category, chicory is one of the few beverages extracted from a root. Coffee, for example, comes from a seed. It is composed of three varieties: sylvestre, foliosum and sativum. But what's behind these Latinisms? When we talk about 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘺𝘣𝘶𝘴 sylvestre variety, we often mean salads. The famous chicory lettuce, which can present a variety of pigmentations: red, green, white or even variegated. You'll often find it under the names Chioggia or Treviso. Do you know chicory? Well, they belong to the second chicory family: the 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘺𝘣𝘶𝘴 foliosum variety. It's grown mainly for its leaves, and you can find varieties that will resonate with chicory consumers, such as "Spadona" chicory, "Catalogna", or "Witloof" chicory. We wanted to save the best for last, so here's the chicory loved and cherished by Chicorée Leroux: the 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘺𝘣𝘶𝘴 sativum variety. Also known as industrial chicory or beverage chicory. Interesting for its yield, it offers an important material that allows us to process it. But of course, it takes a perfect combination of know-how and expertise to process it. Find out all about it here !
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