Chicory is a bushy perennial herb with blue or lavender flowers and a root crop with thick leaves. When dried, roasted and ground, it makes an excellent substitute for coffee. There is no caffeine in chicory, and it produces a more roasted flavour than coffee does. Many coffee producers offer blends with up upto 30% chicory. They were reported to be stomachic and their juice was used against eye diseases and poisoning. The infusion of chicory was believed to be good for the liver, kidney and stomach. Beverages, soups and sausages made of chicory were reported to be used in Italy and Belgium as early as in 16th century. However, in recent years it is largely used as coffee additive via-a-vis as well as coffee substitute to a limited extent. Keeping in view the high post-harvest losses (20–30%), impressive net return to farmers (Rs 35,000/ha) and typical composition of fresh chicory roots, attempts were made to develop pickles from this nutritious and medicinal plant. The oil, vinegar, salt and oil-spice-vinegar based pickles developed from chicory were evaluated with respect to various quality attributes namely moisture content, pH, acidity and sensory qualities. The sensory evaluation of these products was also carried out on a 9-point Hedonic scale after one month's storage at ambient conditions. The quality attributes considered for sensory evaluation included colour, texture, flavour, taste and overall acceptability. This paper presents the results of this study.
Chicory, Coffee additive, Coffee substitute, Post Harvest Losses, Sensory quality
