Shopping for Chicories
Tips for differentiating among frisée, curly endive, escarole, and chicory.
Our Salade Lyonnaise calls for frisée and chicory; the sturdy greens have a bitter taste that helps offset the richness of the pork and poached egg in the salad. Both greens belong to a group of leafy vegetables known broadly as “chicories” (named for their genus, Cichorium), which also includes Belgian endive and radicchio. Shopping for any of the four loose-leaf chicories (frisée, curly endive, escarole, and chicory) can be a confusing experience, since they look similar and are sometimes mislabeled. Frisée works best as a salad green, but the other three can also be used in soups and braises. Here's a guide to help you sort out which is which.