I have to admit I haven’t heard of it until one day , I saw this radiant blue flowers while walking along the roadside early in the morning. It’s almost as if the deep blue sky that you only see on a high mountain so I took a picture of those cute rays of flowers with a plant identifier app and that’s how I found out that those beautiful flowers /plant is the source of Chicory Coffee.
Chicory coffee is extremely popular with regular coffee-loving people who are trying to reduce their caffeine intake—it tastes similar, but doesn’t cause the jitters and does not keep you awake at night.
It has the same earthy flavor of regular coffee without the heart pounding buzz of caffeine.
The beverage chicory coffee is produced by brewing roasted chicory roots.
Yes , you heard it right and it is not the only part of Chicory that is edible and useful .
Almost all parts of the chicory plant are edible, but when dried and roasted, the roots have a rich, chocolaty flavor that can enhance the flavor profile of any dessert or beverage.
Ok, knowing that the leaves and flowers of Chicory are edible , I get more curious and search for recipes and voila (noted it) I will give it a try. Specially the pickled flower recipe.
According to search ,Chicory (cichorium intybus) is a member of the dandelion family, which also contains edible flowering plants like radicchio, frisee, and endive.
Chicory has a long history and is one of the oldest recorded types of plants and its cultivation is thought to have originated in Egypt in ancient times. plant is native to northern Africa, western Asia, and Europe .
This is the strange part here because, I live here in Europe but why haven’t I heard of it? But after further research I learned the truth why it became very popular in New Orleans during the civil war in 1840 and not here in Europe.
Anyone from New Orleans will tell you that chicory is much more than a caffeine-free coffee substitute. Chicory coffee was created out of necessity .
It’s a unique drink that’s as much a part of the city’s culinary history as jazz, muffalettas, and the Civil War.
Here I am finding out the history and origin of Chicory as a Coffee substitute.
According to research almost all of France’s coffee beans were imported from England at the time, so when military leader Napoleon Bonaparte decided to ban international imports, the French people had no choice but to seek an alternative (via Community Coffee).
They came up with a solution by roasting and steeping chicory root, which grew abundantly and provided a cheaper alternative to the beans they couldn’t get their hands on.
This practice was carried over to the Americas by French settlers after the Louisiana Purchase.
However, chicory coffee did not become popular in the United States until the Union blocked the port of New Orleans, preventing all of their own coffee imports.
To compensate, soldiers and poor southerners alike began combining coffee grinds with other sweet foods such as cornmeal and acorns to stretch whatever rations they had on hand.
They discovered, like the French, that chicory was the best at providing a coffee-like flavor at a much lower cost.
Next time , I will share about the amazing health benefits of Chicory . See You soon!
My life's bits and pieces blog 