chicory
Chicory is a type of plant, an herb with bright blue flowers. In many parts of the world, including New Orleans, chicory is commonly added to coffee.
Roasted and ground chicory root has frequently been used as an affordable substitute during coffee shortages. What started as a desperate move in wartime and during the Great Depression became a beloved tradition in some places, where chicory-coffee mixtures are now considered a regional treat. Chicory root is also used as a sweetener, and the leaves are sometimes eaten raw in salads. The blue flowers of chicory can be spotted growing wild along highways in many parts of Europe.
Definitions of chicory
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perennial Old World herb having rayed flower heads with blue florets cultivated for its root and its heads of crisp edible leaves used in saladssynonyms: Cichorium intybus, chicory plant, succorytype of:herb, herbaceous planta plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
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the dried root of the chicory plant: used as a coffee substitutesynonyms: chicory roottype of:root(botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground
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root of the chicory plant roasted and ground to substitute for or adulterate coffeesynonyms: chicory roottype of:coffee substitutea drink resembling coffee that is sometimes substituted for it
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crisp spiky leaves with somewhat bitter tastesynonyms: curly endivetypes:radicchioprized variety of chicory having globose heads of red leavestype of:
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