Escarole: a must-have winter salad

12/18/2023, 6:59:51 AM

Highlights: Escarole, or escarole chicory, offers large, wavy, slightly bitter leaves. This star of autumn and winter salads, hardy to the cold, is easily grown in the vegetable garden. Escaroles are planted from June to September, when the plants have 4 to 5 true leaves. Blanching consists of depriving vegetables of light, in order to reduce their bitterness. Some varieties of escaroles are dense and voluminous, tolerant to frosts.

Not to be confused with curly chicory, wild chicory or batavia lettuce, escarole is both delicious and easy to eat.

Plant ID card

Botanical Name	Cichorium endivia var. latifolium.
Common Name	Scarole, escarole chicory, white chicory.
Family	Asteraceae.
Origin	Europe, Mediterranean basin.
Size	25 cm high, 45 cm wide.
Foliage	Escarole forms large green leaves with more or less wavy or toothed edges, arranged in a voluminous rosette. The leaves of the heart are white to yellow. We love this salad for its crunchy flavor and bitterness.
Flowering	When allowed to flower in the second year of cultivation, escarole develops a flower stalk bearing small purplish flowers.
Exhibition	Sun, partial shade.
Ground	Rich, fresh, deep, close to neutral.
Rusticity	0°C to -10°C, depending on the variety.

Crunchy and flavorful, escarole, or escarole chicory, offers large, wavy, slightly bitter leaves. This star of autumn and winter salads, hardy to the cold, is easily grown in the vegetable garden.

When to plant escarole lettuce?

Escaroles are planted from June to September, when the plants have 4 to 5 true leaves. Maintain a minimum spacing of 30 cm between rows as on the row:

Loosen the soil, and possibly add some well-ripe compost;

Draw rows (you can use a chalk line);

Place your escaroles;

Fill with soil, without burying the collar;

Tamp down and water copiously.

Sowing escaroles:

To harvest delicious escaroles in autumn and winter, sow them between June and early August, directly in the ground or in pots. Some varieties can be sown from May onwards, for an earlier harvest.

Transplanting takes place about 4 weeks after sowing. Give them some coolness and shade: the heat of summer tends to cause them to go to seed.

How do you grow escarole?

There are several tricks to obtain voluminous escaroles in the vegetable garden:

Water regularly, and lay out a mulch to keep a little freshness;
The fall before planting, enrich the soil with manure or compost;
Watch for slugs, which can wipe out your plantation;
If severe frosts are forecast, protect your escaroles with a winter veil;
Combine escaroles with cauliflower, strawberries or spinach. On the other hand, avoid growing them in the company of other Asteraceae.
Escaroles are harvested about 2 months after planting.

How long to blanch an escarole?

Blanching consists of depriving vegetables of light, in order to reduce their bitterness. Allow about 10 days to blanch your escaroles. Once they are sufficiently developed, you have several options:

Place fairly large flower pots on top of the escaroles;

Cover them with burlap;

With string or raffia, bring the leaves together and tighten lightly.

Ideally, you should start bleaching when the weather is dry. Make sure the air can circulate, and don't start bleaching in case of frost: your escaroles could rot completely.

What are the benefits of escarole?

Rich in water, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements, escarole has anti-aging, diuretic, and digestive benefits. Copyright (c) 2014 Yulia von Eisenstein/Shutterstock. No use without permission.

Very low in calories, rich in water and fibre, escarole is also full of vitamins, minerals and trace elements. It contains beta-carotenes, potassium, vitamin B9 (folic acid) and vitamin K. To make the most of its anti-aging, diuretic and digestive benefits, consume escarole chilled... Harvested directly from the vegetable garden!

Some varieties of escaroles

'Géante Maraîchère': dense and voluminous apple, tolerant of the first frosts;
'Blonde à cœur plein': tight apple, with slightly bitter leaves. Precocious, sensitive to cold;
'Cornet de Bordeaux': elongated apple, which turns white naturally. Good frost resistance.