Chicory is good and bad

The use of chicory was described in its writings by well-known ancient doctors and scientists - Theophrastus, Dioscorides, Pliny the Elder. Curative characteristics of the plant interested Avicenna, who prepared from it drugs for the treatment of vision, joints, digestive organs.

In ancient times, the root of chicory was endowed with not only medicinal, but also magical properties. In many countries there was a belief that with its help you can become invisible. There was also such a sign: if on July 25 to dig out the root of chicory and tie it to the staff, it will protect from the knife and bullets during the journey. In Paul Seedyr's Botanical Dictionary of Hermetic Medicine, this plant says: "The root( chicory) can serve as a powerful remedy for spoilage, but it should be collected with appropriate ceremonies: on the birthday of John the Baptist, before sunrise, kneeling, touchinga root of gold and silver, and then with the sword of Judas Maccabeus to pluck out of the earth with vows and other ceremonies. Being assembled at Jupiter in Sagittarius or the Sun in Leo, and moreover in the hour of Venus, it gets properties to heal ulcers and wounds and promotes scarring. "

The popularity of chicory has increased when at the end of the 18th century the German gardener Tamme from Thuringia made a coffee substitute for the first time from the roots of the plant. Europeans loved the new drink, although it was not cheap, because raw materials were brought from afar. Till now many people( for example, inhabitants of Germany and Baltic) with pleasure drink coffee with addition of chicory. In Latvia, a cold drink with honey, apple juice and lemon is prepared from it, and in Estonia they love egg coffee with chicory.

No less successfully used a healing plant in our country. From 1889 and before the First World War, about 400 poods of dry root were sent from Russia annually. The main center of its harvesting was the Yaroslavl Province.

The chicory healer has not lost its importance even nowadays. Useful properties of chicory used in folk medicine, often added to medicines. The substances that are contained in it have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, soothing, urine and choleretic effects. Chicory normalizes the metabolism in the body, cardiac activity, acts as a vasodilator and antipyretic agent. It is used in the therapy of diabetes mellitus, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidneys.

The chicory root contains a large amount of easily digestible substances, making it a valuable food, especially for people with diabetes. It is used in the preparation of sweets and cakes, added to coffee and tea drinks, which gives them an unusual taste, smell and color. Powder from the root of chicory, replacing coffee, strengthens the body and does not excite the nervous system. Since tsikorny coffee does not contain caffeine, there are practically no contraindications to its use. Chicory put in various dishes( salads, meat dishes, etc.), and also used for baths designated for the treatment of obesity, joint and skin diseases.

By now, many cultivars of chicory have appeared( leaf chicory witluf, endive, etc.).They are tasty, healthy, nutritious and contain a large amount of vitamin C. However, their medicinal properties, in comparison with the wild variety, are somewhat reduced, so it is better to use chicory ordinary for medicinal preparations( decoctions, infusions, doses, baths).And dishes made from salad varieties can be consumed as an additional therapy. They are very effective in a diet designed for diabetics and obese people. Of the shoots, leaves and stems of chicory make salads. Young shoots cook and stew. In Belgium, leaf chicory baked with cheese or apples in wine. Great popularity in many European countries uses vitluf, which is put in salads, soups and side dishes for baked, fried, stewed and steamed fish. And in Italy, very much like the chicory salad radicchio.

Chicory flowers contain chicory glycoside, which, when hydrolyzed, is split into esculetin and glucose. In milky juice there are bitter substances lactucine, lactukopicrin, taraksasterol, in fruits - protocatechin aldehyde.

Chicory roots are rich in water soluble inulin( 60%) - polysaccharide, which is used in dietary diabetic patients as a substitute for starch and sugar. In these parts of the plant there is also a bitter glycoside, intibin, widely used in the pharmaceutical industry. In the composition of chicory root, sugars( up to 15%), bitter, resinous and tannic substances, organic acids, chicory, choline, proteins, fats, essential oil, vitamins A, C, B1, B2, PP, manganese, iron, potassium,sodium, phosphorus.

Inulin leaves are also present in the leaves of the plant.

The spectrum of curative and useful actions of chicory is very wide. The plant removes toxins from the liver, stimulating its function. Infusion inflorescence calms the nervous system and improves the work of the heart, it is prescribed for neuroses, insomnia, hypertension. Decoction of the root has a diuretic and choleretic effect, it is used for cystitis, cholelithiasis, nephritis, cirrhosis, hepatitis. Decoction of roots and herbs folk medicine recommends for external use with eczema, acne, furunculosis, purulent wounds, diathesis, inflammation of the lymph glands( in the form of baths, lotions, poultices).Chicory is useful in the general decline of strength, increased sweating, diseases of the spleen, it can be used as a means of normalizing the composition of the blood. Since the time of Avicenna, decoctions and infusions of this plant are prescribed for hyperacid gastritis, enteritis, colitis, cholecystitis, chronic constipation. Fresh juice of chicory helps treat scurvy and anemia.

In India, chicory is used in the manufacture of toothpastes that have an anti-inflammatory effect and prevent the formation of plaque.

Due to its hypoglycemic property, chicory broth has an insulin-like effect, so it can be used to treat diabetes mellitus. The ability to reduce the level of glucose in the blood is also possessed by the leaves of the plant, which are used to prepare salads in dietary nutrition. Instead of wild chicory, you can use vitluf, endive, escaril and other cultivars.

Chicory is used both individually - for monotherapy, and as part of medicinal fees together with other plants. In 1993, the collection of medicinal herbs "Lydia", intended for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, was patented in our country. Together with other plants, it includes the roots of chicory. They are also included in the hypoglycemic collection, patented in Croatia.

Chicory helps to normalize the metabolism, which makes it effective in the treatment of obesity. Thanks to inulin, which contributes to the appearance of a sense of saturation without consuming additional calories, the plant is widely used to reduce weight.

For therapeutic purposes use the root, grass and flowers of chicory.

The chicory root has astringent and hypoglycemic effects. Decoctions from it are used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidneys, as well as in the case of diseases of the nervous system.

From the herb of the plant prepare infusions and decoctions, which can also be used in the treatment of the above diseases. These funds are used externally in the form of compresses, lotions, and rinses in the treatment of skin ailments.

Preparations made from inflorescences of wild chicory, soothe the central nervous system, improve cardiac activity, increasing the amplitude and slowing the rhythm of the heart.

Young shoots, stems, chicory leaves of the common are recommended to be included in diet food.

Diabetes is known from ancient times, people have been trying to treat this disease with ancient doctors. But, despite the accumulated medical experience, it was not yet possible to establish the exact cause of the disease.

Scientists believe that the hereditary factor may play a major role in the development of diabetes, especially if both parents in humans have suffered from this disease. Predisposition to it has also those who have acute or chronic pancreas diseases.

There are known risk factors that promote the development of diabetes, even in those who are not genetically predisposed to it. These include infectious diseases, psychological trauma, persistent nervous overexertion and stress, hypertension, atherosclerosis, as well as malnutrition: the consumption of a large number of foods rich in easily digestible carbohydrates, systematic overeating and obesity. Many of these factors are interrelated. So, stress and psychological trauma often lead to overeating, which is close to obesity, contributing to the development of type II diabetes.

Chicory roots are rich in fructose, which is a useful food product for diabetics. Clinical studies have shown that inulin preparations made from roots give a pronounced hypoglycemic effect in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and, in addition, reduce diurnal fluctuations in blood glucose levels. Due to this, inulin chicory can be used as an agent for the treatment of patients with type II diabetes.

Inulin chicory is prescribed for monotherapy with newly diagnosed diabetes, in case of mild form of the disease and for primary prevention of diabetes mellitus of streets with reduced glucose tolerance and metabolic syndrome( violation of carbohydrate metabolism, hypertension, hyperproteinemia).With medium and severe forms of the disease, inulin will help reduce the dose of major hypoglycemic drugs and will be an excellent means of preventing complications of diabetes mellitus: diabetic angiopathies, peripheral neuropathies, retinopathies, nephropathies and encephalopathies.

In addition, inulin has a positive effect on lipid metabolism, reduces the level of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, improves digestion. In addition, due to the saturation effect, which ensures the intake of inulin, you can reduce the feeling of hunger without consuming additional calories, which is very important in diabetes and obesity.

Methods of using chicory in the treatment of diabetes mellitus
Broccoli, infusions, infusions, infusions for indoor and outdoor use( baths, lotions, poultices, compresses) are prepared from the roots, herbs and flowers of chicory. Widely used collections, the ingredients of which enhance the sugar-reducing effect of chicory, while showing its own useful properties.

Ginseng, Manchu aralia, high zamanicha, levzia safflower, Chinese magnolia vine, rhodiola rosea, eleutherococcus spiny help to normalize metabolism and restore hormonal balance.

Excess glucose from the body produces horsetail, sporich, birch, cowberry, which also possesses a diuretic property.

Common bean, pea seed, blueberry and gigale( goatskin medicinal) preserve insulin from destruction, activate the synthesis of proteins and fats, delay gluconeogenesis and normalize the process of glucose assimilation, facilitating its transport into cells.

To regenerate beta cells in the pancreas, flax seed, walnut, large burdock, licorice naked, blueberries, mulberry white and black are used.

The interaction of insulin with the receptors will help normalize chromosomalous plants: mountain arnica, ginseng, ginger medicinal, laurel noble, loppedeza penny, alder gray, Siberian fir, swampy saber, medicinal sage, levzeya.

Zinc-containing plants - birdwort, birch dowel, Canadian goldenrod, corn stigmas, and also sage medicinal, - contribute to the improvement of immune processes and the synthesis of their own insulin.

In addition to chicory, the group of inulin-containing medicinal herbs include elephant tall, dandelion medicinal and Jerusalem artichoke, which during hydrolysis form fructose.

Blueberries and oats that regulate blood glucose are very useful in diabetes. Broths of leaves and blueberries are used as an effective hypoglycemic.

Decoction of chicory root
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon ground chicory root.

How to use

• Pour the raw material with 200 ml of boiling water, put on low heat and heat for 10 minutes from the time of boiling, then strain and cool.

• Drink 50 ml 3 times a day for diabetes.

• Decoction of chicory root is also used as a choleretic agent for diseases of the pancreas, gall bladder, liver( including cholelithiasis);as a diuretic in kidney disease;to improve digestion and treat metabolic disorders. External it is used for baths, lotions and compresses for skin diseases and gout.

Decoction of chicory root concentrated
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons chopped chicory root.

How to use

• Pour the raw material with 200 ml of cold water and put on fire. After boiling, heat for 10 minutes, then strain.

• Drink like tea with diabetes.

Infusion of chicory root
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons ground chicory root.

How to use

• Pour the raw material with 200 ml of boiling water, let it brew for 1-2 hours, then drain.

• Drink infusion for a day in 3-4 hours. Use a tool to treat diabetes.

Infusion of herbs and chicory root
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon chopped flowering tops of chicory, 1 tablespoon chipped root chicory.

How to use

• Pour vegetable raw materials with 200 ml of boiling water, cover, wrap and let stand for 1 hour, then strain.

• Take 1 table spoon with diabetes 3 times a day before meals. Course - 10 days. Then you need to take a break for 7 days and repeat the treatment.

Chicory herb infusion
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon chicory herb.

How to use

• Pour the raw material with 200 ml boiling water, close the lid tightly, let it brew for 30 minutes, then drain.

• Drink with diabetes every 100 ml 2-3 times a day before meals.

• The infusion of chicory herbs can be used to treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys, as well as neurasthenia and hysteria.

Drug collection( recipe 1)
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons of chicory leaves, 4 tablespoons of walnut leaves, 4 tablespoons of goat grass, 4 tablespoons of nettle leaves, dioecious, 4 tablespoons of dandelion leaves.

How to use

• Mix the ingredients, separate 2 tablespoons of the collection and pour 500 ml of boiling water. Bring to a boil and heat on low heat for 2-3 minutes, then let it brew for 30-40 minutes and drain.

• Drink 50 ml 3-4 times a day for 15-20 minutes before meals with diabetes.

Drug collection( recipe 2)
Ingredients: 5 table spoons of chicory leaves, 5 table spoons of wild strawberry leaves, 5 tablespoons of herb mountaineer, 5 tablespoons of dandelion medicinal.

How to use

• Mix the ingredients, separate 2 tablespoons of the collection and pour 500 ml of boiling water. Put on fire and boil for 3-5 minutes, then let it brew for 1-1.5 hours and drain.

• Drink 60-70 ml 2-3 times a day for 20-30 minutes before meals with diabetes mellitus.

Ingredients: 2 table spoons of chicory root, 2 tablespoons of licorice root, 2 tablespoons of five-lobed leaves of the motherwort, 2 tablespoons of cinnamon briars, 2 tablespoons of hawthorn fruit, blood-red, 3 tablespoons of roota large burdock, 3 table spoons of herbs of a thousand-acres ordinary, 1 tablespoon of herbs of kidney tea, 1 tablespoon of peppermint grass, 1 tablespoon of herb Veronica herb, 1 tablespoon of birch leaves black.

How to use

• Mix all the ingredients, separate 2-3 tablespoons of the collection, pour into a thermos bottle and pour 500 ml of boiling water. Let it brew during the night, drain in the morning.

• Take infusion warm, 70 ml 3 times a day for 30 minutes before meals with diabetes.

Collection of medicinal( prescription 4)
Ingredients: 2 table spoons of chicory root, 2 tablespoons of burdock root, 2 tablespoons of flax seeds, 7 tablespoons of blueberry leaves, 7 tablespoons of pods of bean pods.

How to use

• Mix all the ingredients, separate 2-3 tablespoons of the collection and pour 500 ml of boiled water at room temperature. Leave for 12 hours, then place on a water bath and warm for 15 minutes. Infuse another 1 hour, then drain.

• Take 200 ml 3-4 times a day 30 minutes before meals with diabetes.

Collection medicinal( prescription 5)
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons herb chicory ordinary, 2 tablespoons raspberry leaves, 2 tablespoons grass marshweed, 1 tablespoon herb St. John's wort.

How to use

• Mix all the ingredients, separate 2 tablespoons of collection and pour 300 ml of boiling water, insist under the lid, wrapped in a towel, 2 hours, and then strain.

• Drink infusion during the day in small sips for diabetes.

Ingredients: 3 table spoons of chicory herbs, 3 tablespoons of cinnamon rosea, 2 tablespoons of sheep's grass, 2 tablespoons of juniper fruit, 2 tablespoons of peppermint leaves, 1 tablespoon of herbsgoose.

How to use

• Mix all the ingredients, separate 2 tablespoons of the collection and pour 300 ml of boiling water. Wrap up and let it brew for 2 hours, then strain.

• Take the received infusion with diabetes, drinking it during the day with small sips.

Drug collection( recipe 7)
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons of chicory leaves, 2 tablespoons of leaves of plantain lanceolate, 2 tablespoons of burdock root, 2 tablespoons of horsetail grass.

How to use

• Mix all the ingredients, separate 2 tablespoons of the collection and pour 500 ml of boiling water. Put on the fire and heat for 10 minutes, then let it steep under the lid for 1 hour and strain.

• Take 4 times a day for 100 ml before eating with diabetes. The course of treatment is 30 days.

Juice chicory
Ingredients: 1 kg of young chicory stalks.

How to use

• Only shoots collected in the budding stage are suitable for the preparation of juice. When collecting it is necessary to cut off the tops of about 15-20 cm in length.

• Thoroughly rinse the raw materials, distribute them with boiling water and pass through a meat grinder. The resulting gruel is squeezed through a dense fabric, drain the juice into enameled dishes and put on fire. After boiling, warm for 1-2 minutes.

• Take 1 tea spoon 3-4 times a day with diabetes, diluting this amount in 100 ml of milk. The course of treatment is 1-1.5 months.

• Chicory juice reduces blood sugar levels, in addition, it can be used with anemia as a means of calming the nervous system and tonic heart. External it is used to treat boils, eczema, pustular skin diseases, diathesis in children.

Chicory is a perennial herb with a powerful fleshy spindle-shaped root. Its height is from 100 to 120 cm. The stalk of the plant is straight, scabrous;leaves are short-petiolate, back-lanceolate. Radical leaves form an outlet, stem leaves and leaves of cultivated plants are almost whole-extreme.

Flowers large, bright blue, blossom from July to September. Large beautiful flower baskets sit on the ends of branches and have a double-row wrapper. Fruit is the seed.

The plant is found in the European part of Russia, in Ukraine, in Belarus, in the Caucasus, in the Crimea. The chicory grows in the steppe beams, dry bogs, pine forests, hillsides, sandy and rocky talus.

The use of chicory is known to people since ancient times, it is mentioned in the so-called papyrus of Ebers - an ancient Egyptian document containing medical information of the epoch of Pharaoh Amenhotep I( about 1536 BC).According to this written source, the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt used chicory for the preparation of medicines from snake bites and poisonous insects.

Chicory in the treatment of diabetes

The benefits of soluble chicory are great enough, as well as the benefits of many other plants used by humans to improve their health. Chicory helps to expand the vessels, is able to take off tachycardia, it has a beneficial effect on the nervous system and the circulatory system, soothes. It is useful for all digestive organs. The use of chicory has long been recognized among the people, there are many national recipes that include chicory, it is appropriate in the treatment of liver, kidney and spleen diseases. Tsikorny root( soluble chicory) - a unique product that can replace us with coffee in the morning, giving the human body exceptional vivacity for the whole day. It should be noted that he is an excellent restorative means.

Serious contraindications to the use of chicory is not revealed. An exception is individual intolerance, although it is rare enough. Like many other plants, chicory can cause skin reactions in people prone to allergies.

Since the plant promotes the expansion of blood vessels, it is not recommended for use in vascular diseases, varicose veins and hemorrhoids.

Although chicory is useful for the gastrointestinal tract, excessive use of it can cause digestive problems.

With extreme caution should take drugs from chicory to those who suffer from gastritis, stomach ulcers and duodenal ulcers, liver diseases, bronchitis, asthma, chronic cough and other diseases of the respiratory system. The fact is that taking such drugs can enhance coughing.

Although in chicory, unlike coffee, there is no caffeine, it still acts as an excitement, so people who are treated for insomnia, stress, depression should not use drugs from this plant in large quantities.

So there is almost no harm in chicory. Only individual contraindications are possible. If in doubt, consult a specialist.

For dietary nutrition in diabetes and obesity, you can use salad chicory varieties, the tender and juicy herbs of which also have a hypoglycemic effect.

Leaves and kochanchiki tsikornyh salads contain inulin and intibin( it is he who gives plants a bitter taste).Inulin, regulating metabolism in the body, is used as a substitute for sugar. Intibin improves digestion, liver function, blood vessels. All this makes cultural types of chicory very useful for people suffering from diabetes.

Like chicory, chicory salads belong to the family of Compositae. The homeland of these plants is the states of Eurasia and North Africa. According to their nutritional value, they are not inferior to the usual leaf salad. They contain a huge amount of vitamins and trace elements.

They grow well and give a big harvest not only on personal plots, but also in the conditions of a city apartment: on windowsills, glazed balconies and loggias.

Cultivated wild chicory began in the XVII century in Holland, when its roots were specially grown to obtain replacement of expensive coffee.

A little later, people tried the aboveground parts of the plant, and since then leaf chicory has firmly entered the national cuisines of many European countries. The selective breeding of chicory salads differ in appearance;they are united not only by the common ancestor, wild chicory, but also by the bitter taste, as well as the useful substances contained in them.

As endive varieties of chicory, endives and varieties( escariol and frize, or curled endives), vitluf, radicchia and radicchio are grown.

Endive and escaril( escaril)
Escarol and endive have the same properties and differ only in appearance. Biological features bring them closer to a garden salad. These biennial plants belong to ancient cultures, in Western Europe they began to grow in the 16th century. However, there are reports that even the ancient Greeks and Romans were familiar with the endives. Homeland of these kinds of salad chicory is India, from where they were brought to Egypt, and then to the Mediterranean states.

Currently, endive and escarole are very popular in many European countries, in the USA and Canada. Besides inulin and intibin, they contain salts of potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus, vitamins C, B1, B2, PP, P and other substances necessary for the body. These plants are useful to everyone, but most of all they are needed for people with diabetes.

Endive, one of the main types of salad chicory, looks like a large rosette with long root leaves. Its more famous in our country variety of frize( curly endive) has a lot of narrow wavy-curly leaves, light green at the edges and yellowish, delicate and almost ungainly in the center.

Escarol is also a kind of endive( smooth endive).The plant has wide, round petiolate leaves with even, jagged or slightly wavy edges. Like the endive, the escaril is painted in dark green and yellowish green hues.

The stem of both types of salad is straight, branchy. At endivia, the flowers are small, lilac, and the escariol is blue or pink. The latter is more cold and carries frosts down to -3 ° C.

At the initial stage of development in these species of chicory salad, only the roots and leaves form. The ground part is a rosette of 50 or more leaves. To reduce bitterness, endive and escaril bleach: about 2 weeks before harvesting tied with twine, raise the top leaves and block access to the light, so that the middle of the lettuce heads become light and tender. The leaves can be eaten raw, seasoning with citrus juice to neutralize bitterness. But most often these kinds of chicory are added to mixed green salads. They are also good in salads with fruit ingredients: pineapple, peaches and pears.

At the present time, self-bleaching varieties of endives have been bred by breeders.

You can use unbleached leaves of endivia and escariol, but they are recommended to blanch to remove excessive bitterness. These salads can also be stewed and served as a side dish or put in soups at the very end of cooking.

Frize is most often used in mix salads: it decorates the dish and gives it a piquant because of its bitterness.

This kind of chicory is perfectly combined with other salad leaves, as well as with garlic, thyme, arugula. Its bitter taste suits fish, shrimp, meat, toasted bacon, soft cheese and citrus.

For dressing salads from endivia, frize and escaril use vinegar, lemon juice, vegetable oil. You can add a little honey, goat cheese, garlic or red onions to them.

Its nutritional and healing properties fresh endive and escarole are stored in the refrigerator for 2-4 days.

Recipes for preparing dishes from sheet chicory that satisfy any taste are given in the following sections of this book.

Witloof
Witloof is a leafy species of wild chicory, a perennial plant that is grown as a biennial plant.

In the first year of its development, it forms long white roots and a large rosette of elongated coarse leaves, the second year blooms and gives seeds. The stem of the plant is branched, reaching a height of 1.5 m, with numerous white or blue flowers. Seeds are small, ribbed, brown in color.

As a salad culture, Vitluf has been known since the beginning of the 19th century. For the first time it was cultivated in Belgium, because of what the plant named the "Belgian chicory".Then vitluf began to grow in Holland, this country still holds the first place in the field of selection of its varieties.

Currently, this cultivar of chicory salad is cultivated in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and a number of other European countries.

Grow wheat for the sake of kochanchikov. They are expelled in winter in a dark room from the roots, which are ripe in the summer( you can just cover the pots or boxes with lightproof cloth).When forcing is important, the temperature regime is important: at 15-17 ° C the kochans retain their natural bitterness, but at 8-10 ° C they become sweet, with a slight, hardly noticeable bitterness.

In vitluf contain inulin, intibine, a large number of vitamins, sugars, proteins. Kochanchiki have an elongated, slightly pointed form and weigh about 50-70 g. Pale yellow or white in color( the word "vitluf" translates as "white leaf" or "white head") is due to the fact that kochanchiki developed in the dark. The lighter they are, the less bitterness there is.

The leaves of the vitluf are juicy and crispy. Kochanchiki eat raw, stewed, fried or boiled. For the preparation of salads, they are cut along, across or peeled into leaves. Salads can be filled with sour cream, vegetable oil, mayonnaise or citrus juice, which removes bitterness. It is easy to eliminate, if for 15-20 minutes, wash the vitluf in lukewarm water or blanch for 1 minute in boiling water. For this purpose, it is also possible to soak kochanchiki in salted cold water for about 2-3 hours. Bitterness, which is concentrated mainly in the dense bottom of the baby's head, decreases with heat treatment.

In boiled, fried or stewed sausage, Vitlouf is served as a side dish for various dishes.

Cut fresh kochanchiki not lose their nutritional and taste qualities for 3 weeks, if stored in a cool place.

Radicchio
Radicchio( radicchio) - chicory leaf salad purple-violet with large white veins. The birthplace of radicchio is Italy. To achieve this coloration, it must be grown according to Special technology. First, they are allowed to harden, then they are closed from sunlight and slightly freeze. As a result, not ordinary green chlorophyll accumulates in the leaves, but a purple pigment, which is an effective antioxidant that slows down the aging of the organism.

Radicchio contains the same useful substances as other types of chicory. His healing properties were admired by the Roman scientist and philosopher Pliny the Elder, who sang this salad in his work "Natural History".Radicchio is useful in diabetes mellitus, poor digestion and reduced immunity.

The taste of radicchio is bitter, spicy and very harsh, so it is usually added to dishes in small quantities. Winter varieties of this type of chicory are less bitter than summer varieties. Radicchio is used for mix salads and assorted in combination with other vegetables. To remove bitterness it is possible with the help of heat treatment.

In Italy, radicchio leaves are fried in olive oil, used for cooking risotto and pizza, grilled, fried, stewed and served as a garnish. Together with other vegetables they are put in soups. Torn to pieces pieces of leaf are used to decorate and spice dishes, whole leaves are used as a portioned "salad bowl".

To reduce bitterness, radicchio dishes are seasoned with fruit juices, raspberry and balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, sauces based on mayonnaise. Extinguish this kind of chicory in red wine or olive oil, tearing the leaves with your hands or cutting them with thin straws. Radicchio is perfectly combined with onions, garlic, thyme, arugula, capers, feta and parmesan.

This type of chicory can be stored for 2 weeks in a cool place.

Radicchia
The tsikor salad radicchia( radicchio, radicchio) is often confused with radicchio. Unlike the latter, radicchium has almost no leaves, and it is grown for the sake of a juicy stem, painted in various shades of red( from quite light to maroon).

The plant contains inulin and intibin, a large number of vitamins( ascorbic, folic acid, carotene), minerals and trace elements( calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium).In the juice of radicchium there is a glycoside called lactucine, which has a beneficial effect on the nervous system and has an easy hypnotic effect. The combination of potassium and sodium salts in a salad is beneficial for the liver, kidneys, pancreas and cardiovascular system. Radikkie is recommended to include in the medical and dietary nutrition in diabetes, atherosclerosis, obesity. Adding this type of chicory in food, you can adjust the disturbed water salt metabolism in the body.

In Italy, where radicchia is called the "winter flower of Italian cuisine", it is grown in the north of the country.

In each region they cultivate their own subspecies, differing in both color and taste. Italians grease the stems of the salad with a mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and fry it in a grill or pan. Then the dish is served as a garnish for fish or meat.

Radicchia is added to mixes from vegetables( including leaf salads), fruits, fish, seafood. It is used for cooking risotto, pasta( macaroni), poultry dishes. It gives the dishes a unique taste and piquancy.

We still underestimate this salad vegetable of winter and spring, which can be grown at home in a bucket. Chicory is a two-year-old plant. In the first year it forms a beet root, and on the second it blooms in blue. Chicory is valuable because it grows very fast, the harvest is collected from December to March. Chicory sprouts contain about 10 mg of vitamin C e 100 g, carotene, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and iron. Very important at this time are its dietary properties. In it, there are magnesium-containing substances( intybin), glycoside, cichorin, then choline, arginine and inulin. Chicory has a moderate diuretic effect, stimulates appetite and intestinal motility. It is well tolerated and people with diabetes. We started growing chicory again. They sow it in May, they harvest in October. Roots with leaves cut at a height of 2-3 cm, with undisturbed core, are folded in the basement( cellar) and accelerated at a temperature of about 15 °, no higher, and in the dark( under a black film).The roots are laid close to each other, covered with earth and a 10-centimeter layer of sawdust or sand. The process lasts about a month. Then cut the shoots, which should be white. Green they will be in the light and will be bitter in taste. Germs can be obtained from the root and hydroponically. At home, they should be put in a bucket and, covered with earth, leave in the cellar. On demand, they are brought to a warm room, accelerating growth in the dark. From chicory make salads, it is stewed, baked and frying g in breaded. Use chicory primarily in fresh form, but it can be subjected to heat treatment.

General information: the plant of the family of astrovs, also called the vitluf, originated from the widespread root chicory. In culture, chicory is known since the XIX century. They grow it in many countries of Europe. Witloof is cultivated in a two-year-old culture: in the first year, long white cone roots and a rosette of dark green elongated leaves are obtained, on the second - a tall branchy stem, flowers and seeds. In winter, root crops are obtained by kochanchiki with succulent white leaves.

Varieties of

There are no domestic varieties of chicory salad so far, so foreign varieties are used.

Requirements: is very cold, root crops do not freeze even at -30 ° C.It grows best on loamy and sandy loamy soils, metered by organic matter, with a reaction close to neutral. Responsive to the introduction of potassium, with a lack of element in the plants of spring sowing begins premature rifling. Chicory salad does not tolerate waterlogging.

Cultivation: cultivation techniques are the same as for beets and other root crops. The best time for sowing in the middle belt is May 20-28.The rows are made at a distance of 30 cm, with belts - 20 cm, the distance between the bands is 50 cm. The depth of sowing is 0.5-1 cm. 10 m2 requires 3.5-4 g of seeds.

For forcing chicory salad in winter greenhouses, the roots are leveled, scoring the lower ends and leaving a length of about 22-23 cm. Plant the roots closely, sprinkle with good soil and water abundantly in 2-3 meals. The most common forcing out in the darkness, for which boxes with root crops are topped up with peat or sawdust with a layer of up to 23-25 ​​cm. The temperature is maintained at 12-15 ° C.

Care: thin out the chicory crops twice a distance of 10-12 cm, while root crops are obtained for the desired kopecks 4-5 cm in diameter. Apply top dressing with weak solutions of ammonium nitrate - 5-6 g / m2, potassium salt - 7-8 g/ m2.

Winter germination of chicory salad

1. In late October, chicory should be carefully excavated from the ground with forks.

2. Place the excavated plants in a place protected from the sun in the open air and allow them to dry.

3. To prepare the chicory for germination, a garden knife or a pruner, gently trim the leaves 3-5 cm above the root.

4. At the bottom of the bucket to pour a little ground, tightly install in it dried and cut off roots, sprinkling them on top soil.

5. Sprout chicory in the dark, so the bucket needs to be covered. Watering is carried out only from below - from the pallet under the bucket.

6. After 35-40 days on the roots shoots are formed, which, when they reach a length of 15 cm, can be broken off and used as food

Harvest: harvest roots in late September - early October. Their leaves are cut at 2-2.5 cm above the head. Store them the same way as carrots or parsley.

Usage: go to the food kochanchiki, from them prepare various salads, they use for suppression, cooking. Chicory salad has valuable dietary properties and a specific taste, stimulates appetite, improves digestion and the work of the heart.