What family of vegetables is Swiss chard?
Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L. var. cicla in the Family Chenopodiaceae) is a type of beet that does not produce an edible root. Also know as silverbeet (mainly in New Zealand and Australia), chard is a biennial plant grown as an annual for its rosette of big crinkly leaves and/or wide crunchy stems.
What group is Swiss chard in?
Chard belongs to the chenopods, which are now mostly included in the family Amaranthaceae (sensu lato). The two rankless cultivar groups for chard are the Cicla Group for the leafy spinach beet, and the Flavescens Group for the stalky Swiss chard.
Can you eat Swiss chard like lettuce?
You can absolutely eat chard raw, the same way you would eat kale or spinach raw.
What food group is chard in?
Swiss chard is available at most supermarkets and can be found in the produce section, often alongside other leafy greens like cabbage, kale, and spinach.
What are the benefits of eating Swiss chard?
Swiss chard is an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin K and a good source of vitamin C and magnesium. Swiss chard also contains the antioxidants beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Vitamin A plays a significant role in normal formation and maintenance of many organs including the heart, lungs and kidneys.
Is Swiss chard in the cabbage family?
dominate the winter garden at the ranch, so the chard is a welcome splash of color in the otherwise modest, muted, slow-growing sea of large-leafed plants of the cabbage family.
Is it OK to eat raw Swiss chard?
Swiss chard leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. Raw Swiss chard is less bitter than cooked.
Can Swiss chard be eaten raw in a salad?
Swiss chard can be enjoyed raw in salads or on sandwiches or wraps, braised, boiled, sautéed or added to soups and casseroles. Here are some tips to incorporate more Swiss chard (leaves and stems) into the daily routine: Add a handful of fresh Swiss chard leaves to an omelet or scrambled eggs.
Can Swiss chard stalks be eaten raw?
Yes, you can definitely eat Swiss chard raw. It is a great addition to a green salad. Just cut it up into small pieces that are similar in size to the other greens that you are using in the salad.
Who should not eat Swiss chard?
One cup of chopped Swiss chard has just 35 calories and provides more than 300% of the daily value for vitamin K. But skip this veggie if you're prone to kidney stones; it contains oxalates, which decrease the body's absorption of calcium and can lead to kidney stones.
Which is healthier spinach or Swiss chard?
Significant Scores for Spinach Spinach comes out on top, compared to Swiss chard, in a number of nutritional components. Among them are calcium, with 1 cup of cooked spinach offering 24 percent DV compared to Swiss chard's 10 percent.
Can you eat too much Swiss chard?
Can you eat too much Swiss chard? Although Swiss chard is extremely healthy, it should be eaten in moderation. Eating too much can lead to side effects such as: Kidney stones: Swiss chard contains antinutritive oxalates, which may increase urinary oxalate excretion and increase the risk of calcium oxalate stones.
Is Swiss chard in the spinach family?
What Is Swiss Chard? Swiss chard is a leafy green vegetable in the same family as beets and spinach. It originated in the Mediterranean region and not in Switzerland — no matter what its name might imply.
Are kale and chard in the same family?
Swiss chard is included in the same family of vegetables as beets and spinach, but commonly grouped with mustard greens, kale, and collards.
What is chard related to?
Swiss chard is a leafy green vegetable, closely related to beets and spinach.
Can I substitute kale for Swiss chard?
If you're making a recipe that calls for swiss chard, but you don't have it on-hand, any of these leafy greens would make excellent swiss chard substitutes. Kale, spinach, beet greens, mustard greens, bok choy, Napa cabbage and collard greens can all be a rainbow chard or a swiss chard substitute in a recipe.
Combating cancer
Swiss chard contains chlorophyll, which may be effective at blocking the cancer-causing heterocyclic amines generated when grilling foods at a high temperature.
Managing diabetes
Swiss chard contains an antioxidant known as alpha-lipoic acid. This has been shown to lower glucose levels, increase insulin sensitivity, and prevent oxidative stress-induced changes in patients with diabetes.
Preventing osteoporosis
Adequate vitamin K consumption can improve bone health. Vitamin K modifies bone matrix proteins, improves calcium absorption, and reduces urinary excretion of calcium.
Improving athletic performance
Dietary nitrates have been shown to improve muscle oxygenation during exercise.
Swiss Chard Plant Family
The “Swiss” descriptor was added to the chard name to differentiate it from French chardon. Chard has a milder flavor than spinach and very similar green leaves. The leaves are born on top of long stems that may range in color from white to bright red and many hues in between.
Types of Swiss Chard
Chard plants have several names in addition to Swiss chard. Leaf beet, seakettle beet, and spinach beet are a few, with regional dialects adding to the list. The most common varieties of chard produce yellow, white, or red stalks but there are also stems in pink, purple, orange, and hues in between.
Best Swiss Chard Variety
Choosing the “best” of something is often subjective. The choice depends upon where your garden is and what size and color you want. For a chard plant that offers a roundhouse of color, size, and ease of growth, Bright Lights is a winner.
Colors: Properties and Determination of Natural Pigments
A. Giuliani, ... A. Cichelli, in Encyclopedia of Food and Health, 2016
Benyvirus
BNYVV is the causal agent of rhizomania, one of the most damaging diseases of sugar beet. Fodder beets, Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla ), red beets, and spinach may also become infected naturally. Infections of sugar beet are mainly confined to the root system.
OXALATES
S.C. Morrison, G.P. Savage, in Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition (Second Edition), 2003
Phytomenadione as a dietary supplement: Sources and health benefits
I.O. Lawal, ... A.A. Adam, in Preparation of Phytopharmaceuticals for the Management of Disorders, 2021
Nutritional Epigenetic Regulators in the Field of Cancer
Choline is found mainly in eggs, meat, and fish products; important amounts are found in many plant foods such as collard greens, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, Swiss chard, cauliflower, spinaches, and asparagus. Betaine is mainly found in seafood and certain plants (spinaches, beets, and cereals).
MACROBIOTIC DIETS
Macrobiotics rarely include foods from the dairy group in their usual diets. Some plants including kale, collards, dried peas, and beans provide considerable amounts of calcium.
Foods and Arthritis: An Overview
G.M. Masud Parvez, Khokon Miah Akanda, in Bioactive Food as Dietary Interventions for Arthritis and Related Inflammatory Diseases (Second Edition), 2019
Growing Information
Chard is most often harvested mechanically, or mowed, when it is considered a “baby” and goes to a processor where it becomes part of a salad mix. It can also be hand harvested, bunched, and packed into cartons in the field and then sold in bulk at the grocery store. It typically takes 55 to 65 days from seed to harvest.
Usage Ideas
Chard makes an excellent addition to all kinds of dishes from salads to soups to casseroles.
Stay in the Know About Lettuce
Get the facts about lettuce and why it’s one of the safest and healthiest foods we can eat.
Classification
Chard was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus as Beta vulgaris var. cicla. Its taxonomic rank has changed many times, so it was treated as a subspecies, convariety, or variety of Beta vulgaris. (Some of the numerous synonyms are Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla (L.) W.D.J. Koch (Cicla Group), B. vulgaris subsp. cicla (L.) W.D.J. Koch var.
Etymology
The word "chard" descends from the 14th-century French carde, from Latin carduus meaning artichoke thistle (or cardoon, including the artichoke ).
Growth and harvesting
Chard is a biennial. Clusters of chard seeds are usually sown, in the Northern Hemisphere, between June and October, depending on the desired harvesting period. Chard can be harvested while the leaves are young and tender, or after maturity when they are larger and have slightly tougher stems.
Cultivars
Cultivars of chard include green forms, such as 'Lucullus' and 'Fordhook Giant', as well as red-ribbed forms such as 'Ruby Chard' and 'Rhubarb Chard'. The red-ribbed forms are attractive in the garden, but as a general rule, the older green forms tend to outproduce the colorful hybrids.
Culinary use
Fresh chard can be used raw in salads, stirfries, soups or omelets. The raw leaves can be used like a tortilla wrap. Chard leaves and stalks are typically boiled or sautéed; the bitterness fades with cooking.
Nutritional content
In a 100-gram (3.5 oz) serving, raw Swiss chard provides 84 kilojoules (20 kcal) of food energy and has rich content (> 19% of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamins A, K, and C, with 122%, 1038%, and 50%, respectively, of the DV.
A quick guide to spinach and Swiss chard
You can direct seed both spinach and Swiss chard. You can also transplant Swiss chard.
Popular leafy greens
Swiss chard and spinach are leafy greens in the amaranth family, grown in many Minnesota gardens.
Significant differences between Chard and Lettuce
Chard has more Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Copper, Magnesium, Iron, Vitamin E , and Potassium, however Lettuce is richer in Vitamin A, and Folate.
Mineral Comparison
Mineral comparison score is based on the number of minerals by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" chart below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food
Vitamin Comparison
Vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" chart below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food
Comparison summary table
Pay attention to the most right column. It shows the amounts side by side, making it easier to realize the amount of difference.
Vitamin and Mineral Summary Scores
The summary score is calculated by summing up the daily values contained in 300 grams of the product. Obviously the more the food fulfills human daily needs, the more the summary score is.
Macronutrients Comparison
Macronutrient comparison charts compare the amount of protein, total fats, and total carbohydrates in 300 grams of the food. The displayed values show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of food.
