COFFEE chicory root

Wohrmann R, Averbeck M, and Maier H.G. (1997b) Volatile minor acids in coffee. III. Contents in chicory roots and barley malt. Dtsch, Lebensm. Rundsch. 93, 285-6. 

Light microscopy (LM) is regularly used to obtain rapid, inexpensive qualitative and quantitative information in food analysis. The first routine use of LM in food analysis was for the identification of adulteration (e.g., the presence of chicory root in coffee) or contamination (insect, rodent, microbial, and foreign bodies). Bright-field, polarizing, and fluorescent microscopy are the three traditional LM techniques used most frequently in food analysis. The basic instrument is a conventional compound (bright-field) microscope, to which polarizing and fluorescence accessories are easily attached. 

Around and above 100°C, the boiling of water is generally prevented by using sealed containers this allows the detection of other phenomena such as carbohydrate decomposition. This is observed in the calorimetric curves of reconstituted foods such as milk powders and in the curves of raw foods such as coffee beans, chicory roots, and cereal grains [98-101]. 

Coffee substitutes have been known for a long time, as exemplified by the coffee brew made of chicory roots Cichoricum intybus var. sativum) or by clear drinks prepared from roasted cereals. 

A number of vegetables from the family Asteraceae have a bitter taste, such as endive Cichorium endivia), the aerial part (leaf rosette) of which is eaten as a salad. Lettuce Lactuca sativa) sometimes has a bitter taste, particularly the stalk and the white milky juice. Chicory (C. intybus var. foliosum) is slightly bitter, and is cultivated for salad leaves called chicons (etiolated buds) growing from the root vertex in the dark. Roasted chicory root (C. i. var. sativum) is used in the manufacture of coffee surrogates. Bitter substances of these vegetables are primarily sesquiterpenic... 

Chicory is harvested as fleshy roots which are dried, cut to uniform size, and roasted. Chicory contains no caffeine, and on roasting develops an aroma compatible with that of coffee. It gives a high yield, about 70%, of water-soluble soHds with boiling water and can also be extracted and dried in an instant form. Chicory extract has a darker color than does normal coffee brew (55). 

Di-D-fructose dianhydrides have also been isolated" from commercial chicory, which is used as an additive for coffee or in coffee substitutes. Chicory is obtained by roasting the roots of chicory (Cichorium sp.), a member of the Compositae, which contains inulin (in its roots) as a storage polysaccharide. 

Chicory coffee is manufactured by roasting the cleaned roots of the chicory plant possibly with addition of sugar beet, low amounts of edible fats or oils, salt and alkali carbonates. This is followed by grinding of the roasted product, with or without an additional steaming step or treatment with hot water. Chicory contains on the average 13.3% moisture, 4.4% minerals, 68.4% carbohydrates, 1.6% fat, 6.8% crude protein, 5.5% cmde fiber andprovides an extract which is 64.6% soluble in water. 

Chicory is the perennial turnip-shaped vegetable the tops of which are commonly used as a salad green and the young roots of which may be boiled and eaten like carrots. The roots are also kiln dried, then roasted and ground it then looks like ground coffee. Coffee with chicory additive is more bitter, heavier, and darker than pure coffee. 

The roasted root contains a steam-distillable fraction (aroma), which is composed of pyra-zines, benzothiazoles, aldehydes, aromatic hydrocarbons, furans, phenols, organic acids, and others, totaling 3 3 identifiedcompounds, among which acetophenone is a characteristic component of roasted chicory not previously reported as a component of aroma of any heated food products such as coffee. Other constituents of the roasted root include 2-acetylpyrrole, furfural, phenylacetaldehyde, phenylacetic acid, and vanillin. Small amounts oftwo indole alkaloids ((3-carbolines), barman and norharman, have also been isolated from the roasted root. ... 

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