Chicory

These are the wonderful stalky blue cornflowers I see coming up in July just as it gets too hot and dry to mow.

PARTS USED- roots, leaves, flowers, stems.

ROOTS- roasted and ground up: used as a coffee substitute or additive. No Caffeine.

LEAVES- leafy greens can be used in salads. Blanch young leaves and shoots for salads. The younger leaves are used in salads while the more mature leaves are used as a veggie in cooking. Cook in water and drain then saute with garlic and butter and other leafy ingredients. Add to pasta or as a side dish to meat.

FLOWERS- these can be made into a jam. The buds can be pickled.

STEMS- when tender, boil and add to salads.

MEDICINAL- Leaves, when bruised, can be used as a poultice for swelling and inflammations such as pimples, eczema, acne and other skin spots.

NUTRITIONAL- Vitamins A, C, E & K, Calcium, Copper, Thiamine, Niacin, Iron, Phosphorus, Sodium, Riboflavin, Magnesium (leaves). is a good source for inulin, one of the major prebiotics (non-digestible food ingredients that stimulate the growth of bacteria in the digestive system).

MAGICAL (from Scott Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs)

Chicory is used to remove all obstacles that might crop up in your life. It is carried for this purpose.

At one time it was thought to make its possessor invisible and to open locked boxed and doors if held against the locks. But for these last 2 purposes it must be gathered with a gold knife in perfect silence at noon or midnight on Midsummer.

If you anoint you body with chicory juice, you will obtain great favors from great person. It is also carried to promote frugality.

Gender- Masculine
Planet- Sun
Element- Air

From time to time I will be posting information on various plants, herbs, etc. As with anything taken medicinally, you should contact your doctor first to make sure it is safe for you.
If you think you have allergy to any of the herbs, plants, etc that I talk about you should stop using it immediately and contact your doctor.
If you are eating anything that you are picking or harvesting yourself make sure that you are properly identifying the plant. Many plants look very similar and are hard to identify. Make sure that you are not eating plants that are growing by the side of the road (car exhaust and road dust is not healthy), near a swimming pool (chlorine can splash onto the plants), where you think an animal has defecated or urinated or anywhere else that is subject to fertilizers, weed killers or any other chemicals.