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Farmer Rudy Leus of Ghent, Belgium, checks on his crop of witloof—aka Belgian endive—growing in the dark to produce the bitter yellowish-white shoots that sprout from the root of the chicory plant. Growing endive is something of a national obsession in Belgium, where the crop was discovered accidentally in 1830 after a farmer found the odd torpedo-shaped sprouts growing from some chicory roots he’d left in his dark cellar. Today, France is the largest producer of endive, but Flemish farmers still guard their seeds and varieties like dark family secrets, and celebrate their favorite vegetable with an annual festival, witloof beer, and road races.

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Farmer Rudy Leus of Ghent, Belgium, checks on his crop of witloof—aka Belgian endive—growing in the dark to produce the bitter yellowish-white shoots that sprout from the root of the chicory plant. Growing endive is something of a national obsession in Belgium, where the crop was discovered accidentally in 1830 after a farmer found the odd torpedo-shaped sprouts growing from some chicory roots he’d left in his dark cellar. Today, France is the largest producer of endive, but Flemish farmers still guard their seeds and varieties like dark family secrets, and celebrate their favorite vegetable with an annual festival, witloof beer, and road races.

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