This Easy Swiss Chard Recipe Will Get Everyone to Eat Their Greens (2024)

FAQs

What is the best way to eat Swiss chard? ›

Swiss chard (also known simply as chard) is a leafy green vegetable that is related to beets and spinach. It is rich in vitamins A, C and especially K, and it is also a good source of magnesium, iron and potassium. Chard can be steamed or sauteed, and it's great in soups, stews, casseroles, frittatas and quiches.

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.

Kidney stone:

As a result, anyone with kidney stones should avoid Swiss chard because oxalates may increase symptoms in certain people.

Cooking bitter greens like chard and kale long and slow in animal fats, as in stews or soups, tends to get rid of the bitterness. The simple best way to get rid of the tanic acid in cooking chard greens only is the cut up the greens and bring them to a Rolling Boil and boil them for 3 min.

Broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and cabbage are among the most challenging to digest due to their complex fibers, which tend to ferment in the gut, causing gas and bloating. Alternative nutrient-rich foods that are easier on the gut include dark leafy greens like kale, spinach and Swiss chard.

You can eat these greens both raw or cooked. However, cooking chards improves not only the nutrient availability, but also the taste. Swiss chard is susceptible to foodborne pathogens, like other leafy greens, so be careful about washing this veggie thoroughly before preparing it.

Swiss Chard

And mustard greens holds its own by having the least amount of calories and slightly more protein and calcium than kale. All four types of greens are also rich in many other nutrients, including manganese, folate, copper, choline, magnesium, potassium and vitamins E, K, B2 and B6.

While both are high in vitamins A and K, magnesium, and iron, spinach is much higher in calcium — providing 24 percent of your recommended daily intake compared to chard's 10 percent — and in vitamins B, particularly folate (via SF Gate). In fact, spinach has 10 times the amount of folate than chard.

Kidney stones: Swiss chard contains antinutritive oxalates, which may increase urinary oxalate excretion and increase the risk of calcium oxalate stones. Blood clotting: If you are on blood thinners, you may want to avoid Swiss chard due to its high vitamin K content, which plays a role in blood clotting.

Along with other leafy greens and descendants of the beet family, Swiss chard contains high levels of nitrates, which been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce the amount of oxygen needed during exercise, and enhance athletic performance.

What is eating my Swiss chard at night? ›

Caterpillars like cabbage worms and cabbage loopers are usually the first thing I suspect when I start seeing holes in the leaves of my Swiss chard plants. Then, there's slugs and snails, which have been known to eat from chard, as well.

Use salt.

Salt is a friend to bitter greens, whether you plan to eat them raw or cooked. Mellow the bitter flavor with a sprinkle of salt on endive or radicchio, or include anchovies or cured meat (like bacon, pancetta, or proscuitto) along with mustard, beet, or collard greens.

Chard will usually bolt in any extreme temperature conditions like freezing and in extremely dry hot weather.” Doyle noted that the plant might continue to produce the typical chard leaves, and that the smoother leaves are still flavorful but more bitter than others.

Of all the greens I cook with, chard is the most versatile; it's sturdier than spinach, yet has a more delicate flavor than other sturdy greens like kale or turnip greens. Chard comes in different colors; the leaves are always dark green, but red chard has red stalks and yellow chard has yellow ones.

Swiss chard leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. Raw Swiss chard is less bitter than cooked. A bunch of raw Swiss chard will cook to a much smaller amount. The stalks are thicker than the leaves so they take longer to cook.

Chard stems are edible, too, so don't toss them when you're cooking the leaves! If I'm making sautéed Swiss chard, I simply add the stems to the pan a few minutes before I add the leaves so that they have a chance to soften.

Swiss chard leaves can be eaten cooked or raw. There are many methods for cooking swiss chard leaves. The most popular ways to cook swiss chard leaves is to steam or sauté them. Cooked swiss chard leaves make a great addition to soups, casseroles, omelets, and pastas.