What is the history of chicory?

Answer 1

Chicory is a native plant of western Asia, North Africa, and Europe and belongs to the aster family, along with absinthe, artichoke, Jerusalem artichoke, dandelion, endive, escarole, lettuce, sesame, and sunflower, as well as daisies and ragweed.

Chicory was cultivated 5,000 years ago by Egyptians as a medicinal plant. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans used it as a liver tonic, sedative, and appetite stimulant. Ancient herbalists considered the bruised leaves to make a good poultice for swelling and inflamed eyes. Ancient Greeks and Romans also used chicory as a vegetable and in salads. Virgil, Ovid, and Pliny mentioned chicory in their writings. Around 30 BC, the Roman poet Horace ate chicory as part of his vegan diet: "Me pascunt olivae, me cichorea, me malvae" ("As for me, olives, chicory, and mallows provide sustenance"). Galen of Pergamon, a Roman physician of Greek ethnicity living in the second century AD what is now Turkey, gave chicory the name "Friend of the Liver," because of what he considered to be its stimulating effect on that organ.

Medieval monks raised chicory. When coffee was introduced to Europe, the Dutch combined chicory root with the coffee beans. Northern Europeans began cultivating it as animal forage in the early 17th century.

In 1766, Frederick the Great banned the importation of coffee into Prussia. Brunswick innkeeper Christian Gottlieb Förster responded by developing a coffee substitute, which he began manufacturing in 1769 in Brunswick and Berlin. There are also references to the use of wild chicory root as a coffee additive in colonial America. In 1779, Scottish scholar James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, described "chicoree," which the French cultivated as a pot herb (leafy green vegetable). By 1795 there were at least 22 chicory factories in Brunswick.

In 1808, Napoleon initiated the Continental Blockade, which deprived the French of most of their coffee. When the blockade was lifted, the French continued to use chicory as a coffee additive, because they believed it was good for their health and improved the flavor of coffee. Early 19th century French chefs and writers believed chicory to be a sedative, whose effects were a perfect compliment to the stimulating effects of the caffeine in coffee. In the 19th century, its use as a coffee additive and substitute became widespread in France and areas of French cultural influence like Louisiana. By the 1840s, the port of New Orleans was the second largest importer of coffee (after New York). Louisianans began to add chicory root to their coffee when Union naval blockades during the American Civil War cut off the port of New Orleans, and created a tradition that continues to this day. Chicory was also adopted as a coffee substitute by Confederate soldiers during the Civil War, and has become common in the United States. Camp Coffee, a coffee and chicory blend, has been sold in the United Kingdom since 1885, and was used during the Second World War.

In the United States, chicory root has long been used as a substitute for coffee in prisons. The wild plant grows throughout the United States and much of Canada.

In folk medicine, fresh chicory root was believed to fight pulmonary consumption. An extract of 1 ounce (2 teaspoons) of root or dried herb to a pint of boiling water was used to combat jaundice and liver enlargement. The mixture was boiled, then simmered for 10 minutes then the solids were strained out, and the liquid was cooled and taken at 8 to 12 ounces per day. The Cherokee used it as a nerve tonic, and the Iroquois used the extract as a wash and poultice for lesions and sores. Syrup of chicory was used as a laxative for children. Modern herbalists say that chicory increases bile production, moderates a rapid heart rate, lowers cholesterol, and destroys bacteria.