Chicory

While chicory may not be among the most popular leafy green, you may want to think twice before ruling it out. It is a quite bitter taste, but it is the bitter substances that make the vegetable so valuable from a nutritional point of view.

Chicory can stimulate the metabolism and gastric juice production so it is easily digestible. At the same time, it can provide the body with valuable nutrients such as beta-carotene, vitamins B1, B2 and C, folic acid and potassium.

sugars in g/100g*
fructose sucrose glucose fructose total**
0,71 0,45 1,28 0,94

Good to know

Like carrots, chicory roots are laid out in greenhouses and covered in sand in autumn. They become pale and delicate due to this sand cover. Sliced, the buds provide a raw vegetable that tastes more or less bitter due to intybin. But they can also be steamed, boiled in salted water, or gently sautéed as a vegetable. In France, the Netherlands, and Belgium (where the chicory originally comes from), they are commonly stewed.

*amount of sugar depends on variety and ripeness
**The value of 'fructose total' composes of the pure fructose and 1/2 of the sucrose.

source: BZfE, aid.de