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♪♪

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This may look like a scene 
from a cold and foggy

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winter morning in London,

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but it's actually a step

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in the production of one 
of California's most unusual

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specialty crops, 
with roots in Belgium.

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Bonjour, endive!

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♪♪

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These little plants 
live in cold storage

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for up to ten months 
on their way to your table.

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It's below freezing in here.

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That's cold!

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But before we get too far into 
this unusual growing process,

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let's learn the name of this 
tasty vegetable.

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It's spelled E-N-D-I-V-E, 
and it's pronounced...

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[David Moen] Endive 
is what we sell.

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Endive is a leafy green, but 
they're two different things.

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David Moen is sales manager

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for California Endive Farms 
in Rio Vista, California.

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Endive and its cousin, endive, 
both come

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from the chicory family.

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The pronunciation, "ON-deev,"

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honors the origin

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of the plant in Belgium, 
where, almost two centuries ago,

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a chicory farmer found out 
quite by accident

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that long term cold 
storage of chicory

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plants would produce 
tender, tasty leaves.

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In the U.S., an aspiring 
farmer named Richard Collins

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began growing endive in 1983.

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The company he started, 
California Endive Farms,

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was sold in 2016,

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but it's now America's 
largest grower of endive

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with more than 5 million 
pounds a year.

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Endives and Richard Collins 
were featured

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in one of our America's 
Heartland Farm to Fork cooking

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segments with our own chef 
Sharon Profis.

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[Richard] Endive 
is really versatile in that it

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not only can be used 
for nice fresh preparations

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but it can be cooked.

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[Sharon] So, 
you can grow endive year round?

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[Richard] We never stop.

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[Celina Lemus] People don't know 
what it is, um, but when...

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when people do get 
their first taste, they love it.

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Celina Lemus is plant manager 
at California Endive Farms.

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[Celina] It's 
such a great vegetable to have.

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There's so many things 
you can do with it. It's...

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it's just a really nice addition 
to a meal.

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You know, 
you can do an appetizer,

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you can do a salad, 
you could do a soup,

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you could do a main dish.

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Endive is all about the leaves.

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White endive has 
pale yellow leaves.

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Its sibling, red endive, makes 
a striking visual statement.

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The leaves may look delicate, 
but endive survives harsh

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conditions of extreme heat 
and cold, sunshine and darkness.

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It's a two-step process.

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As the team at California 
Endive Farm says,

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this vegetable is...

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[David Moen] ...so 
special, it's grown twice!

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♪♪

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In the first step,

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endive has a fairly traditional 
growth on about 300 acres

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in California's 
hot Central Valley.

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After about five months, 
the endive roots and plants are

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harvested, cut just a few inches 
above the root line.

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[David] And from digging it,

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it goes into big trucks 
to bring it down here.

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It's sorted, 
and then goes into bins.

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[Fork lift honking] 
We put it in cold storage.

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As many as 3 million roots

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stay in cold storage 
for up to ten months.

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It's a long, cold, dark nap,

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complete with icicles.

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Then, the plants are moved

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to a slightly warmer room 
for their second growth.

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[Celina] So, we're 
in our forcing rooms right now.

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This is the forcing

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of the rootstock that 
we've brought in from the field.

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It'll stay in here for 
anywhere from 18

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to 28 days, depending.

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Um, we'll give it some water.

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We keep it dark 
and we let it grow.

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When the endive emerges

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from its second growth, 
it's ready for your table.

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The most edible part of the 
plant is separated

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from the base.

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Exterior leaves are discarded 
so that you get the crispest,

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tastiest inner leaves.

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Then, the endive is packaged,

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boxed and shipped 
to your grocer.

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♪♪

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To demonstrate 
the versatility of endive,

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David Moen 
prepared two easy recipes,

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one cold, with apples, 
walnuts and blue cheese,

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and one hot, baked 
with olive oil,

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panko breadcrumbs 
and a little bit of fresh thyme.

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And he made them 
both in about a half hour.

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[David] You could be complex 
with endive, or you could be

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really simple.

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And so, 
I tend to like to be simple.

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Although endive has been around 
a long time,

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it's still being discovered 
by consumers.

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The folks at California 
Endive Farm

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say their goal, 
like their motto, is simple.

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[Celina] Eat more endive!

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[David] Eat more endives.

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And say it in French...

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"ON-deev."

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♪♪

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Endive, or witloof,

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as it's known in Flemish, 
is an accidental vegetable.

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The story goes that back 
in 1830,

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a Belgian farmer 
forgot some chicory roots

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that he had stored 
in his cellar.

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The roots had sprouted 
white leaves,

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which turned out to be 
pretty tasty!