The Field Guideby Moss & MarrowThe Field Guideby Moss & MarrowAlso called witloof, brussels lof.
In the Netherlands, chicory is in season October to April, at its best in November, December and January. Chicory is in season now, in November, and this is the peak.
Chicory roots are lifted in autumn and forced in the dark, so the heads are a winter vegetable from October to April.
Pale, tightly closed heads with yellow, not green, tips.
Folate, vitamin K and inulin, a fermentable fibre. The bitterness comes from lactucin.
To get the most: Raw leaves keep the folate; braising keeps the inulin. The bitter core is where most of the bitter compounds sit.
See how chicory (witlof) compares with the other 243 foods on our nutrient density chart, counting what your body absorbs.
Content per NEVO, the Dutch food composition database. This describes what the food contains, not what it does for you.
Braise halves in butter until golden, wrap in ham for the classic gratin, or slice raw into a salad with apple and walnut.
3 producers in The Field Guide sell chicory, according to their own website or shop list, each checked against our inclusion criteria and listed by province. Another 175 growers passed our bar for this food group; we have not yet recorded what each of them grows, so ask them or search the map.
Open on the map →Dates read on 2026-10-11. If a window on this page is wrong, tell us with a source.
guideWhy choose local and seasonal food?Food picked ripe in its own season carries more vitamins, travels days instead of weeks and keeps good farms in business. Twelve reasons, with the evidence.Read the guide →
A free list of what’s in season this month, then one slow email a month with seasonal tips and goodies.