The blog of cooking-ez.com
The bitterness of endives
As I write these lines, we are entering the endive season, and if you like it, it's time to enjoy it, if possible with your local producers.
Endive is good, but the reproach that is often made of it, and children in particular, is: "It's bitter!
And it is (somewhat) true of course, endives have a little bitterness in them that contributes to their charm, and that we may not like. Bitterness moreover which is accentuated with cooking, it is discrete on a raw endive, a little stronger on a cooked one, and very marked on one too cooked.
So if you want to eat cooked endive that is not too bitter, is it possible?
Endive is good, but the reproach that is often made of it, and children in particular, is: "It's bitter!
And it is (somewhat) true of course, endives have a little bitterness in them that contributes to their charm, and that we may not like. Bitterness moreover which is accentuated with cooking, it is discrete on a raw endive, a little stronger on a cooked one, and very marked on one too cooked.
So if you want to eat cooked endive that is not too bitter, is it possible?
8,719 16 4.9
Last modified on: February 9th 2019
Keywords for this post:EndivesBitternessChildrenThe bitterness of endives
Yes, and there is a trick to this, a trick that consists of removing, and discarding, the most bitter part of the endive, the heart, before using it.
This part, shaped like a cone, is at the base of the endive and can be removed with a small sharp knife like this:
Once this is done, use the endive as normal, but keep in mind to cook it for as little time as possible, it is not a vegetable that is meant to be cooked, but to be stopped cooking as soon as it is tender.
Another way to reduce this bitterness is to blanch them. If you have a recipe for cooked endives, for example endives au gratin, do not hesitate to blanch them for 1 or 2 minutes in boiling salted water, then drain them very carefully before using them normally.
Well, you have to be honest, you will reduce the bitterness with all this, but not make it disappear, the bitterness is part of the taste of endive, there is a big work of seduction to do with children to get them to eat it...
If you are in this moment, I suggest you to start with an endive salad with walnuts (raw then) finely sliced with a walnut oil dressing, it is a very good, and very progressive beginning, for a discovery of endive.
To sum up: For less bitter endives: 1) Remove the core 2) Cook as little as possible.
This part, shaped like a cone, is at the base of the endive and can be removed with a small sharp knife like this:
Once this is done, use the endive as normal, but keep in mind to cook it for as little time as possible, it is not a vegetable that is meant to be cooked, but to be stopped cooking as soon as it is tender.
Another way to reduce this bitterness is to blanch them. If you have a recipe for cooked endives, for example endives au gratin, do not hesitate to blanch them for 1 or 2 minutes in boiling salted water, then drain them very carefully before using them normally.
Well, you have to be honest, you will reduce the bitterness with all this, but not make it disappear, the bitterness is part of the taste of endive, there is a big work of seduction to do with children to get them to eat it...
If you are in this moment, I suggest you to start with an endive salad with walnuts (raw then) finely sliced with a walnut oil dressing, it is a very good, and very progressive beginning, for a discovery of endive.
To sum up: For less bitter endives: 1) Remove the core 2) Cook as little as possible.
Lasts posts
Toss the salad
When you've finished preparing a salad, green or otherwise, it's usually time to add the dressing and toss. It's often said to "toss the salad", which means to season and mix. Is it easy? Not so easy...1,9155 March 8th 2024
Half milk, half cream
In a multitude of recipes, savoury or sweet, milk is used as the main ingredient, or at least as the main liquid ingredient. Milk is used instead of water, for example, because milk contains a proportion of fat, which adds roundness and softness to the recipe. This mellowness is very pleasant on...1,996 February 27th 2024
Cutting soft cheeses
As you may have already noticed, when you have to use a "soft" cheese in a recipe - their exact name is "soft cheese" - such as Camembert, Munster or Mont d'or, it's not easy to make anything other than thick slices.2,1295 February 20th 2024
It's spinning too fast!
When you need to grate or slice vegetables, you generally use an electric machine that does all the work: a food processor, a mixer with a "slicer" extension or similar. Are these machines really suitable? Generally speaking, yes of course, but there's one criterion that often poses a problem,...5,0085 November 12th 2023
When I was a kid, I didn't like...
Maybe you've already made this strange observation: when you were a kid, there were things you hated, but as an adult it's almost the opposite? For example, you used to hate spinach or chicory, but now you love it?4,6235 November 5th 2023
Other pages you may also like
What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?
This is a question that you may well have asked yourself and which I will attempt to answer. In France the two trades of "boulangerie" (bakery) and "pâtisserie" (patisserie and confectionery) have always been quite distinct, but where exactly do the boundaries lie? .119K 14.1 February 7th 2017
Fruits which can ruin your jelly
There are many ways of making a fruit mousse, but one of the simplest is to prepare a fruit jelly (basically a fresh fruit coulis with gelatine) and then mix this jelly before it sets completely with whipped cream. The result is perfect for filling a charlotte, for example. But do beware;...67K4.0 March 6th 2013
Candied fruits: don't get ripped off
Do you like candied fruit? You might like to nibble a handful or add it to a recipe, like a classic fruit cake or delicious Italian specialities like panettone or sicilian epiphany pie.53K 24.2 June 21th 2017
For well opened (puffed) cakes
It's always nice to have a well puffed up cake after baking, not only will it taste good but it looks great too. Let's see how to get this beautiful shape almost every time.26K4.2 January 23th 2019
Cooking time for pasta
What is as good and simple as pasta? Not much, I think, and it's so easy to prepare: boiling water, salted (or not, depending on your taste), a few minutes of boiling and it's ready. The only "difficulty", so to speak, is the respect of the cooking time and the risk of, unfortunately, overcooking...18K4.6 July 18th 2019
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.