Vegetables in the chicory family, such as radicchio and Belgian endive, are rich sources of inulin.
"The chicory family of vegetables: radicchio, Belgian endive, for instance, curly endive. There's not a salad that I've ever gotten in the south of France or in Italy that doesn't have radicchio or curly endive in it. I always went, "Why are these guys eating all this stuff?" It's a great source of inulin." (said at 1:00:50)
While plants in the chicory family (*Cichorium intybus*) are well-known as a principal source of inulin, inulin functions as a storage carbohydrate that accumulates almost entirely in the taproots rather than the edible foliage. In leafy chicory vegetables such as Belgian endive heads (*Cichorium intybus* var. *foliosum*), the soluble carbohydrate content consists predominantly of simple sugars like fructose and glucose, whereas inulin remains concentrated in the taproots. Describing common chicory salad greens like radicchio and Belgian endive as rich dietary sources of inulin confuses the root storage organ with the leafy vegetable.
- context: Effect of Root Storage and Forcing on the Carbohydrate and Secondary Metabolite Compositio… (ACS food science & technology 2022)
"Belgian endive heads contain between 336-388 mg/g DW of total soluble carbohydrates, predominantly fructose and glucose... In roots, the main storage carbohydrate, inulin, was degraded during storage and forcing processes; however, more than 70% of total soluble carbohydrates remained unused after forcing." (abstract, results)
pubmedfull study (doi)