When summer goes, the time of the bitter salads begins. Endive, sugarloaf, radicchio and Belgian chicory are robust, winter-hardy and supply crisp green and red when the tender summer lettuce is long a thing of the past. Their fine bitter note is no flaw but flavour, and can moreover be softened on purpose.
All four come from the same family, the chicory, and share a growing rhythm: sown in summer, harvested in autumn and winter. This article introduces the quartet and shows the little tricks that make them succeed.
Four bitter salads for the cold season
The four differ in shape, colour and use, but all like the cool season. The common denominator is the sowing in high summer: whoever sows or plants in June and July harvests in autumn and winter, when the beds are otherwise empty.
Some are best raw, others fried or braised. And almost all turn milder through cold, because, similar to kale, they store sugar in frost.
The bitter-salad quartet
- Endive
The large, curly or flat-leaved autumn salad. To blanch it, tie the leaves together a few days before harvest, that makes the heart pale and mild.
- Sugarloaf
The cone-shaped, very winter-hardy classic. Its dense heart blanches by itself and thereby turns milder. It keeps in the bed into winter.
- Radicchio
The red head from Italy. It is the splash of colour in the autumn bed, raw, grilled or in risotto. Frost takes away part of its bitterness.
- Belgian chicory
The oddity: you do not harvest the leaves but dig up the roots in autumn and force the crisp chicons from them in a dark cellar.
The right timing
The most common mistake is sowing too late. Bitter salads need the summer to form sturdy plants that then grow into the cool season. Sow from June, plant into July, so that enough mass stands by autumn.
How you grow autumn salads
Sow or plant in summer
Sow from June, set young plants until July, about 30 centimetres apart. That way sturdy plants stand ready when it turns cooler.
Tend evenly
Water regularly and keep the bed weed-free. Bitter salads are robust but reward even moisture with tender leaves.
Blanch endive before harvest
In dry weather tie the leaves loosely together. After about one to two weeks the heart is pale-blanched and clearly milder.
Leave radicchio and sugarloaf through frost
Both tolerate frost and turn milder for it. Harvest as needed, a light cover extends the harvest time into winter.
Sow in summer, harvest in autumn and winter. Blanch endive, force chicory, and frost makes the red heads sweet.
The core rule for autumn salads
Frequently asked questions
When do you sow autumn and winter salads?
In high summer, usually from June to July. Endive, sugarloaf, radicchio and Belgian chicory need the summer to form sturdy plants that then grow into autumn and winter. Sowing too late gives only small plants.
How do you make endive less bitter?
By blanching. Tie the leaves loosely together one to two weeks before harvest in dry weather. Without light the heart breaks down bitter compounds, turns pale and clearly milder. Sugarloaf blanches its dense heart by itself.
How do you force Belgian chicory?
Dig up the roots in late autumn, cut back the foliage and set them closely into a bucket of moist soil. In a dark place at 15 to 18 degrees they force the pale chicons in three to four weeks. Darkness is decisive, otherwise they turn green and bitter.
Do autumn salads tolerate frost?
Sugarloaf and radicchio are very winter-hardy and even turn milder through frost, because they store sugar. Endive tolerates light frost, in hard frost a cover protects it. That way the harvest can be drawn into winter.
Why do my autumn salads taste so bitter?
A certain bitter note belongs to them, but it can be tamed. Blanch endive by tying it up, let radicchio and sugarloaf get frost and do not harvest too late. An even water supply also keeps the bitterness within bounds.
