Chard
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| Beta vulgaris var. cicla (L.) K.Koch | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla), also known as Swiss Chard, Silverbeet, Perpetual Spinach or Mangold, is a leaf vegetable, and is one of the cultivated descendants of the Sea Beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima. While used for its leaves, it is in the same species as the garden beet, which is grown primarily for its roots.
The word "Swiss" was used to distinguish chard from French charde or chardon by nineteenth century seed catalogues publishers and the name stuck. Chard is very popular among Mediterranean cooks but the first varieties have been traced back to Sicily. In the US the leaves are valued while European cooks value the stalks to the point of discarding the leaves or feeding them to animalsTemplate:Fact.
Chard can be harvested while the leaves are young and tender or after maturity when larger have slightly tougher stems. Chard is extremely perishable, so keep refrigerator storage time to a minimum. Store unwashed leaves in plastic bags in the crisper for 2 to 3 days. The stalks can be stored longer if separated from the leaves.
Chard has shiny green ribbed leaves, with stems that range from white to yellow and red depending on the cultivar. It has a slightly bitter taste. The leaves are generally treated in the same way as spinach and the stems like asparagus. Fresh young chard can also be used raw in salads.
Cultivars of chard include green forms, such as 'Lucullus' and 'Fordhook Giant,' as well as red-ribbed forms such as 'Ruby Chard,' 'Rainbow Chard,' and 'Rhubarb Chard.'
Modern cladistic botanical taxonomic systems such as that of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group place chard and the other beets in family Amaranthaceae, but the older systems more likely to be encountered in horticultural sources place them in a family Chenopodiaceae.
Cultivation
Chard will grow in ordinary garden soil, and, like beets, it is best to keep the pH above 6. It may be planted in rows or in beds similarly to spinach but is not susceptible to bolting and can tolerate both hot and cold conditions. Individual well grown plants can become quite large, with leaves two feet tall, but crowded plants will still produce well. The plant is useful to the home gardener since it can be harvested, leaf by leaf, well into the fall and even after the first frosts.
In Australia and New Zealand
Silverbeet is commonly available in Australia and New Zealand, where it is usually named as "silverbeet" and not "chard" (although Rainbow Chard is not usually termed Rainbow Silverbeet -- and many naive consumers refer to silverbeet as "spinach"). The most popular variety is the above-mentioned Fordhook Giant. It is available in bunches in nearly all supermarkets, and fruit and vegetable shops. A significant percentage of Australians incorrectly/mistakenly identify silverbeet as spinach, despite the fact that both spinach and silverbeet are usually available and the major supermarkets correctly label their silverbeet as silverbeet not spinach. Also, some restaurants and other food outlets in Australia advertise a food item as containing spinach, but they substitute the silverbeet for spinach because silverbeet is cheaper.
