The flavor of young rosettes resembles that of cabbage with a fine hazel taste. It can be served alone as white asparagus or served with shellfish, fish, or meat. The cultural system used for modern witloof chicory production is proposed for seakale. In vitro plantlets and root cuttings are adapted for field setting. Shoot regeneration capacity is high in root cuttings.
Cuttings come from plants before their transfer in dark chamber.
They are kept at low temperature and high atmospheric humidity until field setting in spring. Field Production Phase Field setting takes place between March 15 and May 15. The optimal date is the end of March for root cutting and the beginning of May for in vitro plantlets. Optimal planting density approaches 54,000 plants per hectare. The duration of growth in the field is about 6-8 months during which time the plants form one or several foliar rosettes.