Content
- Wegwarte is a treat for the eyes and the palate - it's all edible
- This is how the leaves spice up the diet
- Flowers are much more than a feast for the eyes
- Roots serve as an aromatic coffee substitute
- Tips
The Wegwarte is not only a visual enrichment for the menu
Wegwarte is a treat for the eyes and the palate - it's all edible
With sky-blue ray blossoms, the Wegwarte spreads its rural charm to the summer bloom in the garden. The ancestral mother of chicory, endive and radicchio, the traditional cottage garden plant is edible in all its parts. Tips for the culinary use, we have put together here for you.
This is how the leaves spice up the diet
In the spring, if you still miss a fresh ingredient for the crisp salad, the chicory with its delicate leaves is on hand. If the foliage becomes a little stronger during the flowering season, prepare a healthy vegetable that will make the traditional spinach forgetful. If you soak the leaves in water for 2 hours beforehand, the bitter substances are broken down and the taste is particularly mild.
Flowers are much more than a feast for the eyes
The flowers of a chicory are truly early risers. From 5 o'clock in the morning, the flowers of the petals open, longing to go east towards the rising sun. The light blue flowers remain open until just before noon. In order to use the edible flowers, they are thus harvested early in the morning. How to use the floral ornament in the kitchen:
Do not throw the flower stalks away. Blanched briefly in water and then baked in batter, the stems turn into a nature-related delicacy.
Roots serve as an aromatic coffee substitute
Already in the 18th century, resourceful farmers discovered out of necessity that the roots of a chicory made it possible to produce an aromatic hot drink as a substitute for the very expensive and rare Arabic coffee. To date, this coffee substitute is known under the names Muckefuck or Landkaffee.
The roots are peeled and minced. In a pan with sugar and roasted without fat, the pieces are ground last. The resulting powder brews like coffee with boiling water.
Tips
The chicory is not only useful as ornamental and vegetable plant. Thanks to its valuable ingredients, the floral all-rounder relieves various health problems in a natural way. Prepared as tea, Wegwarte stimulates the metabolism, cleanses the blood, eliminates headaches, stomach depressions and lifts the mood.