Tuesday 18 September 2012

Endives

Although the availability of exotic and less ordinary fruit and veg in our shops here in the UK has improved a lot in recent years, there is still one vegetable which is hard to find (at least outside London) - the Endive.

Curly Endive

Allegedly most British people do not like Endives, but I think this is untrue. It's probably just that most Brits have never knowingly tried them. You do see bits of Endive in restaurant salads and those little bags of mixed salad that you can buy in supermarkets, but you very seldom encounter a whole Endive being sold separately. Endive has a reputation for being bitter, but this is unjustified. Modern varieties are much less bitter than hitherto, and you can always reduce the bitterness by blanching. And anyway, Endives are much more robust than lettuces, so they will hold up well in a strong sweet salad-dressing. Maybe one made with olive oil, white wine vinegar, some honey and a chopped shallot?

I love Endives, and since I can't buy them my only option is to grow them myself. The soil in my garden is very sandy and dries out quickly, so it is not well suited to growing Spring or Summer Endives. I find that in hot dry conditions Endives bolt very rapidly, but the cooler moister conditions of Autumn are a different proposition. Unfortunately I am seldom able to devote much space to growing this veg, but I do try and cram a few in wherever possible. As usual, this year I sowed my Endive seeds in trays and brought them along in those trays until they were about 6 inches tall, with three or four proper leaves. I then transplanted them. Some went into a space where the miserable Sweet Corn had been, next to the Cherokee beans:


The sticks are an anti-fox measure, by the way.

Others went into the little spaces at the base of my Runner Beans, one between each pair of canes:


Still others went into my two wooden wine-boxes.


With all this lot to choose from I ought to get a few decent ones! Whenever the weather is dry I will be taking special care to water the young plants to avoid giving them an excuse to bolt. The first of these won't be ready for cropping for a couple of weeks (and then only after some blanching), so in the meantime I can only offer you these close-up photos to whet your appetite:



Curly Endive

Broad-leaved or Batavian Endive
By the way, when buying Endive seeds, don't assume they are all suitable for growing in the same way. Some are definitely for Spring sowing, and others for Autumn. Some are very hardy, and some will perish at the first sign of frost. Choose wisely!




9 comments:

  1. Must admit I haven't knowingly tried endives. Have you ever tried to get a photo of the fox?

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    1. Sue; Yes, I have photographed foxes in my garden on several occasions, and I often see them passing through (I chase them off when I can), so I have no doubt that they are responsible for much of the damage my garden sustains.

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  2. It's a vegetable that I grew up eating quite often. My mum used to sautee the endive and serve it with a white or cream sauce.
    Nowadays it seems to have grown out of favour as you don't see them very often anymore in the shops or supermarkets. Best bet is street markets.

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  3. These plants look really pretty. I might try growing some hardy variety next year.

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  4. I've never tried endives, or not that I know of anyway.

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  5. Many many moons ago whilst studying my A levels I had a weekend job at a restaurant. One of the jobs was to prepare curly endive for the chefs. I was told to sprinkle liberally with salt and leave a few minutes, then to wash off under cold running water. This was to ensure any slugs were dispatched.

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  6. I thought I had ordered some endive seeds but now I can't find them. Everything seems to be dying off or getting eaten in my garden right now but I know as soon as we get cool, I will be able to grow things again.

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    1. Found them! I got an heirloom endive called Batavia.

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  7. It's been a while since I dropped by.. your garden is really expanding! Lovely veg!

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