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Belgian Chicory, Sprouts and Vegetables

Specialised

WITLOOF / CHICON — Belgian endive — is a genuine Belgian agricultural invention: chicory roots forced in darkness produce a pale tight chicon, discovered at Schaerbeek in the 1830s-50s and industrialised from there; eaten raw, braised, or rolled in ham and baked under cheese sauce. BRUSSELS SPROUTS, cultivated around Brussels from at least the 16th century and named for it — ⚠ though they are now grown mostly elsewhere. Also Mechelen asparagus, stoemp, and the market gardens that fed the cities.

Atlas — where and when

Communities and languages

Languages: Dutch

What is recorded

  • Witloof, Belgian endive, results from forcing chicory roots in darkness and was developed near Brussels in the mid-nineteenth century, at Schaerbeek by the usual account. Brussels sprouts were cultivated around Brussels from at least the sixteenth century and take their name from the city, though they are now grown predominantly elsewhere. documented
  • Witloof — Belgian endive — developed by forcing chicory roots in darkness near Brussels. documented

Recipes

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