Known in France as endives and in Belgium as chicon or chicory witloof (“white leaf” in Flemish), endive is said to be the fruit of chance: in the mid-19th century, a Belgian farmer who had buried wild chicory plants in his cellar was surprised to find that they had sprouted, giving birth to an unknown vegetable… Others attribute the discovery to a certain Brésier, head of the Brussels botanical garden. Henri de Vilmorin is also said to have introduced the plant to France, having seen it at the 1873 exhibition in Ghent.
Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie has established itself as the world’s leading endiviculture region. From 1970 onwards, hydroponics (soil-less root cultivation in nutrient-enriched water) became widespread. But nothing beats “real” chicon grown in the ground and blanched in the cellar!
