California Endive

What's New

This photo is from the 1st day of summer, Happy Summer Solstice! Our roots are looking great....

America's Endive Grower

As the only major grower in America, we take great pride in our year round production of the highest quality red and white endives- both conventional and organic.

Endive Nutrition

The low calorie content and abundance of vitamins and minerals makes California endive a nutritious and delicious choice for your diet.

The Versatile Vegetable

Endive brings a delightful, slightly bitter flavor and crunchy texture to salads and appetizers and, when cooked, a subtle yet sophisticated taste to entrees and soups.

Endive and Wine Pairings

Wine pairing made simple with seasonal, delicious endive recipes.

2-stage growing process: first in the light, then in the dark

Chicory seeds are sown in the spring producing a root the size of a large carrot by fall. Those roots are harvested from the field and then placed in dark, humid, “forcing” rooms to produce endives. Yes, endive is actually the second growth of a chicory root!

The story behind the farm

While California Endive Farms is now America’s largest grower of endive, the company started from very humble beginnings as the brainchild of founder Rich Collins. The seed for the idea was planted in 1978 while Rich worked as a dishwasher in a French restaurant in Sacramento, California. After a trip to Europe to learn hands-on about growing techniques, California Endive Company was born in 1983.