Witloof Raketa

Raketa is a biennial plant of the Asteraceae family, belonging to the witluf (salad chicory). In its first year of life, it forms a powerful rosette of large dark green leaves with wide petioles and a thick, elongated conical white rootstock suitable for forcing heads. In the second year, the plant develops an upright branched stem reaching 120–130 cm in height, on which small blue or white flowers appear.

For cultivation, raketa prefers loose, well-fertilized neutral or slightly acidic soil. Seeds are pre-soaked in liquid humic fertilizer, and sowing is carried out at the end of May–beginning of June at a temperature of +8–10 °C. After seedlings emerge, the plants are thinned: first leaving 7–8 cm between plants, then up to 15–16 cm to form thick roots. Watering is done regularly, while fertilization includes nitrophoska in April and wood ash in September.

Rootstocks are harvested in autumn, cutting the foliage 1–2 cm from the top of the fruit. After harvesting, rootstocks are stored in a dark room at a temperature of +1–5 °C; heads are forced one month after harvest by planting them in containers no less than 40 cm high with 30 cm spacing between specimens. Forced heads are separated from the rootstock and stored in a dark, cool place. In the presence of light during forcing or storage, bitterness increases.

Raketa has a specific, appetite-stimulating taste and valuable dietary properties: up to 20% carbohydrates – inulin, which breaks down into fructose; intibin improves digestion, liver function, beneficially affects blood formation and the cardiovascular system. Thanks to these properties, the plant can be used as a coffee substitute for hypertension and has calming effects.