Escarole Cichorium endivia

Endives are an important bitter-tasting salad green in Europe but less well known in this country. There are two distinct varieties of this plant.  Curly endive (var. crispum) and escarole (var. latifolium) are both chicories of the same species which produce a rosette of leaves forming a loose head.  Endive has curled fringed leaves while escarole leaves are smooth, broad and less bitter than endive.

Grow endive and escarole after danger of frost in full sun, well-drained pH 5.5-8.3 soil that retains moisture.  The growth period of the plant is about 70-100 days. Endives are more tolerant of high temperatures than lettuce but grow best at temperatures of 60-65 degrees. Both types may bolt and flower with short days and cool weather.  Escarole can tolerate a mild frost once established.

The natural bitterness may be reduced by blanching the plant before harvest to slow the production of chlorophyll which causes the bitter flavor.  Some ways to blanch include pulling the outer leaves over the head and tie during dry conditions to prevent inner leaf rotting or cover each plant with a container to exclude light for several weeks before harvest.  Somewhat self-blanching varieties are available.

This plant may be confused with the Chicory, Belgian Endive, or Radicchio, a different species of the same genus which has a small, tightly packed, cylindrical head.