A mysterious vegetable known as witloof is cultivated in dark farmhouse cellars around Brussels and Leuven.
It is a pure Belgian creation that was accidentally discovered by a local farmer soon after Belgian gained independence from the Netherlands.
The farmer had fled the fighting around Brussels, leaving behind some chicory roots buried under damp soil. When it was safe to return, he was surprised to discover the roots had grown pale white shoots.
The news reached a horticulturist named Franciscus Bresiers who worked at the Brussels Botanical Garden. He spent the winter of 1834-35 growing chicory in old cellars used for mushroom cultivation under a layer of warm, dark horse manure.
Local farmers learned of the technique and started to grow witloof in the fertile soil of Brabant Flanders, east of Brussels.
The bitter, white vegetable took a few years to catch on, but by 1846 it was being sold at markets in Brussels.
Six years later, the Belgian delicacy had reached Paris, although it wasn’t until the 1930s that it became available in the United States.
The name varies depending on where you buy it. They call it witloof, or white leaf, in Flanders, chicon in Wallonia, and endive in France.
The Italian name is insalata Belgia, Belgian salad, while Germans refer to it as Brusseler lof. The British use the word chicory, while American cookbooks call it endive.
The witloof economy is now in the hands of about 6,000 small Belgian farms which together occupy 22,000 acres, or almost one quarter of all cultivated land in Belgium. Some varieties are grown in soil, while others are the product of hydroculture.
Known as “white gold” in Belgium, witloof is an expensive delicacy in New York, where it is sometimes served with champagne at lavish receptions.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
