7. ENDIVE is an herb that is used as a salad plant or is cooked and
served with a hot dressing or as greens. The three common varieties of
this green are escarole, chicory, and French endive, all of which have a
slightly bitter taste and may be found in the market from late summer
until early winter. _Escarole_ is a broad-leaved variety that is grown
more or less in a head. _Chicory_, which is shown in Fig. 1, has a small
feathery-edged leaf, and is often bleached by tying the leaves together
at the top, so that the inside ones are very tender. Both of these
varieties may be cooked, but they are also much used for salads. _French
endive_ bears very little resemblance to the other kinds, having
straight, creamy-white leaves that are closely pressed together. It
looks very much like sprouts of some kind, and is entirely bleached in
the process of growth by banking the earth around it. It is never used
for anything except salads and garnishes.
8. Endive is very low in food value, comparing very closely with celery
and cucumbers in this respect. Still, as a salad vegetable, it is worthy
of much more extensive use than is generally made of it. As a rule, its
price is about the same as that of lettuce, so it should be substituted
frequently for lettuce to give variety to the diet. To be most
satisfactory, endive should be bought when it is fresh and unwithered
and kept until used in a cool, damp place. A good plan is to wrap such
vegetables in a damp cloth. If, upon using, endive appears to be
withered, it may be freshened by placing it in a pan of cold water and
allowing it to remain there for a short time.
When endive is used as a salad, it may be served merely with a salad
dressing of some kind or it may be combined with other vegetables before
applying the dressing. Escarole and chicory, which are much used as
greens, should be prepared and cooked according to the directions given
in Art. 3.