Pain de Sucre is also known as green leaf and sugarloaf. It is a delicious, sweet and healthy vegetable that can be used as a replacement for endive and lettuce. Pain de Sucre is easy to grow, has almost no disease problems and requires little care. Chicory is also known as endive and sweet potato. It is related to chicory, endive and red-leaf. It looks a lot like romaine lettuce or Chinese cabbage. The leaves are crisp, light green and deliciously mild in flavour with a well known hint of bitterness. It is one of the many "forgotten vegetables" that is enjoying a revival.
Pain de sucre is a very healthy and versatile vegetable. It contains the following vitamins, among others: A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, E, K and P. And the minerals: calcium, iron, phosphorus, copper, manganese, magnesium, sodium, silicon and zinc. It is also a versatile vegetable that can be boiled, steamed, stewed, blanched and used in oven dishes. It can also be finely chopped and used in salads and as a raw vegetable. You can also add it to soups and other recipes. Pain de sucre is delicious with: minced meat, pork, beef, chicken, cheese, bacon, eggs, pasta, ham, apple, red pepper, milk, olive oil, parsley, eggs, red wine vinegar, mustard, butter, nutmeg, cream, ginger, chives, lentils, bananas, honey and cinnamon. And with other vegetables such as: chicory, tomatoes, leek, paprika, endive, potatoes, garlic, onion, carrot, mangetout, broccoli, chard, spring onion, wild rocket, mushrooms, pumpkin, sweet potato, green beans, spinach, sorrel, turnip greens, broccoli, courgette and broad beans. It can be kept for a few days in the vegetable compartment of the fridge. Non hardy annual.
Outdoor sowing: end of March - half July
Germination: 10 - 16 days
Germination temp. : 15 - 18°C
Sowing depth: ½ cm
Plant distance: 25 - 30 cm
Plant position: sunny
Harvest period: September - October
Sow from end of March on a very sunny, sheltered plot with some chalk and freedraining soil. Sow thinly in rows of broadcast the seeds. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. Keep moist and weedfree. Thin the seedlings, when they're large enough to handle to about 30 cm apart. Give enough water by drought.
Sugarloaf is non hardy and must be harvested before the first frosts or transplanted to a very sunny, sheltered plot. Remove bad and brown leaves before transplanting in a cold frame.Harvest the crops from april till end of november. Before the first frosts. Remove the whole crop or remove the leaves by cutting them. The nicely closed light green crops are yellow leaved inside. Sugarloaf can be stored for a couple of days in the fridge.
