You may know it as Swiss chard
Chard
Chard or Swiss chard is a green leafy vegetable. In the cultivars of the Flavescens-Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade; the Cicla-Group is the leafy spinach beet. The leaf blade can be green or reddish in color; the leaf stalks are usually white, …
Mediterranean climate
A mediterranean climate /ˌmɛdɪtəˈreɪniən/ is the climate typical of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate.
What is a good substitute for Swiss chard?
What Can You Use As Swiss Chard Substitutes?
- Dark leafy greens. This substitute for Swiss chard is the common name for a collection of cruciferous vegetables that includes arugula, bok choy, and others.
- Kale. Out of all the green vegetables, you can consider kale as one of the healthiest and most nutritious vegetables available today.
- Beet Greens. ...
- Collard greens. ...
- Mature Spinach. ...
- Mustard greens. ...
Are collard greens and Swiss chard the same?
With 11 grams of carbohydrates and 5 grams of protein, collard greens contain slightly more of these nutrients than either kale or Swiss chard. Of the three types of greens, collards offer the highest amount of fiber, with 8 grams per cup. This vegetable's vitamin content is similar to other greens, with a high amount of vitamin A.
Is Kale and Swiss chard the same thing?
Swiss chard leaves are tender and have a taste similar to beet greens and spinach. While some may find the leaves slightly bitter, they are less vegetal in flavor than kale. The crunchy stems are slightly sweet and have a similar taste and texture with bok choy stems.
What is the flavor of Swiss chard?
You can describe the taste of raw Swiss chard as something like spinach, which is not surprising since it is related to its family. The leaves have a slight bitterness to it, just like any leafy vegetables, but the little sweetness on its stems makes the Swiss chard more enjoyable compared to the bitter taste of kale.
Can I substitute green chard 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.
Is all chard Swiss chard?
All chard is Swiss chard; it's just stalk colors and names that vary! The stalks and leaf veins of Swiss chard vary in color from yellow to pink and deep red to white. Chard with red stalks is called Rhubarb, Red, or Ruby Chard. Chard with multicolored stalks grouped together is known as Rainbow Chard.
Is Swiss chard the same as greens?
Swiss chard is more tender – but not as easy to tear as collard greens, which have the thinest (and largest) leaves of the three greens. Flavor. When cooked, Swiss chard has a very similar taste to spinach, but slightly sweeter. It's a bit less bitter than collard greens or kale when raw.
What's the difference between red Swiss chard and green Swiss chard?
Red chard = rhubarb chard = ruby chard, with green leaves and red stalks, is slightly more tender and flavorful than white chard = green chard, with white stalks and green leaves, but the two are interchangeable in most recipes.
How do you cook Swiss chard so it's not bitter?
I like to pair it with sweet onions, garlic and even a splash of vinegar. While it may be counterintuitive to add vinegar to make it more palatable, the acidity in the vinegar balances the bitter taste in the chard and the overall effect is more harmonious.
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.
Which chard is healthiest?
Swiss chard is one of the healthiest leafy green vegetables, according to the video's narrator Tyler. Just 100 grams of Swiss chard will give you more than 300 percent of your daily dose of vitamin K, more than 20 percent of your vitamin C and more than 20 percent of your vitamin A.
Is raw Swiss chard poisonous?
The dark, leafy greens have optimal health benefits and are packed with nutrition. The taste of the raw leaves is slightly bitter, which is due to the high level of oxalic acid in them, and that's where the concern lies regarding toxicity. Just eat them in moderation, and you won't have a problem.
Does Swiss chard need to be cooked?
Keep in mind: Swiss chard leaves can be eaten raw or cooked.
What is green chard good for?
Swiss chard is a nutritional powerhouse -- an excellent source of vitamins K, A, and C, as well as a good source of magnesium, potassium, iron, and dietary fiber.
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.
What is Swiss chard used for?
Chard contains 3 times the recommended daily intake of vitamin K and 44 percent of the recommended amount of vitamin A. This vegetable can help to combat cancer, reduce blood pressure, and enhance performance in sports. Swiss chard can be eaten raw or cooked.
Are there different kinds of chard?
The major varieties of Swiss chard include Bright Lights, Bright Yellow, Fordhook Giant, Lucullus, Rhubarb Chard, Rhubarb Red, and Ruby. The different kinds of chard bunched together are known as Rainbow Chard, which is the common name to describe the bright stalks.
How many types of chard are there?
12 Varieties of Swiss ChardVarietyStem ColorsNoteFordhook GiantGreen leaves White stemsSavoyed LeavesBright Lights BlendWhite Pink Gold Orange Purple RedLeaves vary Green or Bronze AAS WinnerMagenta SunsetPink stems and veinsStems are narrowBright YellowYellow stems and veinsDeep Green leaves8 more rows•Apr 1, 2016
Is Swiss chard the same as Rainbow Chard?
Swiss Chard has a common relative, Rainbow Chard, which is the exact same plant but with a colorful stalk instead of white.
Why is it called Swiss chard?
Some gardeners choose to feature chard in their gardens because of the chard's colorful stem and decorative large green leaves. Swiss chard does not originate in Switzerland- it was name by a Swiss botanist.
Buying, Cooking, and Recipes
Danilo Alfaro has published more than 800 recipes and tutorials focused on making complicated culinary techniques approachable to home cooks.
What Is Chard?
Chard is perhaps most commonly referred to as Swiss chard (which is one varietal), and it's related to beets. Chard greens look similar to beet greens, but unlike beets, the root of chard is inedible. The green leaves have a grooved, bumpy texture running up a colorful, thick stem. Both parts are edible, but they do cook at different rates.
How to Cook With Chard
Younger chard leaves can be eaten raw in dishes like salads. The more mature leaves are tougher and best served cooked. As with collard greens and kale, it's best to remove the stems and ribs from the centers of the leaves because they can be tough and fibrous.
What Does It Taste Like?
Chard's flavor is comparable to spinach, although this depends on what cooking technique is used. It can be bitter, especially Swiss chard. Cooking tends to diminish the bitterness so that its earthy, sweet, almost beetlike flavor is more pronounced.
Chard Recipes
Chard makes an appearance in a variety of dishes and is just as versatile as spinach. It's used in salads, stir-fries, soups, casseroles, and dumpling recipes.
Where to Buy Chard
When bunches of rainbow chard are available, they're easy to spot among the leafy greens in a produce market. Many grocers do carry some variety of chard, especially during the summer, which is chard's peak season. A bunch will likely cost more than spinach or lettuce—it's typically grouped with specialty greens like kale.
Storage
For the best storage results, separate the leaves and stems, storing the two separately for up to one week in the refrigerator. For the leaves, lay them out on paper towels, then roll them into a bundle before sealing in a plastic bag. The stems can also be wrapped in plastic.
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.
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.
Can you substitute red chard for Swiss chard?
The name chard comes from the French word carde, which refers to the cardoon, or artichoke thistle. The plant came to be known as Swiss chard as a way to differentiate it from native spinach.
Which is healthier spinach or swiss chard?
What Does Swiss Chard Taste Like? Swiss chard’s leafy green leaves are tender with a bitter taste when eaten raw. Once cooked, the bitterness dissipates, turning into a mild, sweet taste similar to spinach.
Is chard similar to spinach?
Instead, use collard greens as a substitute for Swiss chard leaves. These leaves have an intense flavor when consumed raw, however, as they cook, the flavor becomes more mild and enjoyable.
Is chard healthier cooked or raw?
Both greens are good sources of iron, with spinach providing a bit more with 36 percent of the DV compared to chard’s 22 percent. It’s important to understand that even in areas where spinach is statistically better, Swiss chard is still a very healthy choice and excellent source of nutrients.
Is Swiss chard toxic?
Although they’re unrelated, chard is similar to spinach, but with a stronger, more assertive (or, as some think, bitter) flavour. Different types of chard have different coloured stalks and ribs – some are white, some are golden-orange and some are red (called ruby or rhubarb chard), and there’s even rainbow chard.
Which is healthier Swiss chard or kale?
Like many leafy greens, Swiss chard shrinks drastically when cooked, so 1 cup of cooked Swiss chard will contain much more nutrition than 1 cup of raw Swiss chard.
Is Swiss chard anti-inflammatory?
Consume too much and you may be in for unpleasant symptoms such as kidney stones, abdominal pain, low blood pressure, tremors or convulsions, vomiting, and weak pulse. But don’t think this means dark, leafy greens aren’t part of a healthy diet. In moderation, they’re perfectly fine.
What is Swiss Chard?
Swiss chard or simply chard is a leafy green vegetable belonging to a group of plant species called Beta Vulgaris. They practically belong to the same group as spinach and beets.
What Does Swiss Chard Taste Like? Does Rainbow Chard Taste Good?
To begin with, it does NOT taste anything like a Swiss cheese or anything remotely associated with Switzerland. Unlike beetroot, chard is cultivated for both its leaf and stem as well.
How to Cook Swiss Chard
Swiss chard is one of the easiest vegetables to cook and also one of the most versatile in terms of its usage. They can be used in endless forms of cooking methods and can be consumed either raw or cooked.
Conclusion
Green vegetables are healthy! That is the universal truth. However, they are always let down by their underwhelming taste.
