Vegetables Produce Facts English
Belgian Endive (Witloof Chicory)
Recommendations for Maintaining Postharvest Quality
![]() Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis
Maturity & Quality
General Information Witloof chicory or Belgian endive is a "chicon" or compact oval head of overlapping leaves produced from a harvested tap root. Forcing occurs in the dark at elevated temperatures 16-20°C (60-68°F) often in hydroponic trays and results in the cream-yellowish compact head or chicon after 3-4 weeks. Witloof chicory is a member of the lettuce family. Maturity Indices Maturity is based on chicon size and compactness and varies according to cultivar and the quality of the tap root (amount of carbohydrate reserves). The firm heads are harvested by snapping from the root. Quality is based on size, compactness, shape, and color. After trimming outer leaves, the chicons should be white with closed cream-yellow points and not have any torn leaves. Witloof chicory cultivars vary in flavor and bitterness (caused by sesquiterpene lactones). Chicons rapidly turn green if exposed to light and the flavor changes (see Special Considerations). Good quality chicons do not have any traces of green but are white with cream-yellow leaf edges. Maturity & Quality Photos
Temperature & Controlled Atmosphere
Optimum Temperature 0°C (32°F) is required to optimize witloof chicory storage and life. A shelf-life of 21-28 days can be expected at this temperature. At 5°C (41°F) a shelf-life of about 14 days can be expected. Witloof chicory is usually room cooled after packing. Placing chicons on ice for retail display will cause discoloration. Relative Humidity >95% Belgian endive chicons have moderate respiration rates:
To calculate heat production, multiply ml CO2/kg·hr by 440 to get BTU/ton/day or by 122 to get kcal/metric ton-day. Ethylene production rates of harvested chicons are <0.1, 0.2, and 0.7 µL/kg·hr at 0, 10 and 20°C (32, 50 and 68°F), respectively. Witloof chicory or Belgian endive is moderately sensitive to ethylene exposure. The main symptoms of ethylene injury are accelerated decay and discoloration of the leaf margins. Ethylene could also be expected to induce leaf abscission, but this effect may require a very long period at low storage temperatures. Some benefit to shelf-life can be obtained with low O2 (3-4%) and high CO2 to (4-5%) atmospheres at temperatures of 0-5°C (32-41°F). CA retards the development of browning on leaf edges. CO2 atmospheres also retard discoloration of the butt also. To control greening, extremely low O2 concentrations (<0.1%) are required.
Disorders
Physiological and Physical Disorders
Date
February 2001 |
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How to Cite
Author(s) names. Initial publication or update date (located at the top). Title. Link to the specific Produce Fact Sheet webpage (Accessed date)
Example: Cantwell, M. and T. Suslow. 2002. Lettuce, Crisphead: Recommendations for Maintaining Postharvest Quality.
http://ucanr.edu/sites/Postharvest_Technology_Center_/Commodity_Resources/Fact_Sheets/Datastores/Vegetables_English/?uid=19&ds=799 (Accessed January 18, 2014).