This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...
To find out more...
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?
15 K 4.9/5 (16 reviews)
Keywords for this post:EndivesBitternessChildrenLast modified on: February 9th 2019
The 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
A tablet holder
Perhaps you too cook by consulting your recipe on a tablet or phone, and putting it down on your worktop? It's practical, but not the best solution. Here's a look at how you can make an inexpensive, almost universal stand.March 14th 20261,0965
Pre-calibrated pastry dough
When making pie dough (shortbread, shortcrust, sweet...), it's always a good idea to make a lot at once, and then divide it into pieces, which you can freeze. I've already pointed out the mistake not to make, which is to form a ball before freezing. It's difficult to roll out afterwards because...March 9th 20261,0965
Butter vs. grease
We often read in a recipe where a pastry is put into a mould that, just before pouring, the mould should be buttered or greased. But what's the difference between these 2 terms?December 1st 20253,1585
Getting out of the fridge early
Very often when you're cooking, you need to take food or preparations out of the fridge, to use them in the recipe in progress. There's nothing tricky about this: you just take them out of the fridge and use them, usually immediately, in the recipe. But is this really a good method?November 24th 20252,0815
Who's making the croissants?
When you look at a bakery from the outside, you naturally think that in the bakery, the bakers make the bread, and in the laboratory, the pastry chefs make the cakes. It's very often like that, with each of these professions having quite different ways of working, but sometimes there's also one...November 23th 20251,906
Other pages you may also like
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.June 21th 201770 K 24.2
Baking cakes
Where we see that to put a cake in the oven, once the dough is finished and in its mould, there is no hurry and that the cold is your friend.June 28th 201946 K4.1
The so-called "nervous" meats
You've probably heard this before, we're talking about "nervous" meat, or meat with nerves, to describe what is indicated by the blue arrow on the left. This is a piece of beef, and what we call a nerve is not a nerve, it is in fact collagen (chemists sometimes call it a "collagen sink"), a...April 16th 202139 K4.5
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...March 8th 202413 K5
The beautiful story of the croissants
As you may have already noticed, cooking, baking and pastry-making are full of stories or legends, usually very romantic, about this or that product or recipe. This is often the case for named recipes, for example tarte tatin, peach melba, paris-brest and many others, but it also applies to very...October 10th 201821 K5
Post a comment or question
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.