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Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla), also known by the common name
Common name

A common name is a name in general use within a community . A common name is not necessarily a commonly used name.Many of the conventions and traditions described in this article are based on the English language, and thus may not apply to common names in other languages....
s Swiss Chard, Silverbeet, Perpetual Spinach, Spinach Beet, Crab Beet, Seakale Beet and Mangold, is a leafy vegetable
Vegetable

The term "vegetable" generally means the Eating parts of plants. The definition of the word is traditional rather than scientific, however, and therefore the usage of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective, as it is determined by individual cultural customs of food selection and food preparation....
 and a Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima. While the leaves are eaten, it is in the same species as the garden beet
Beet

The beet is a plant in the Amaranthaceae. It is best known its numerous cultivated varieties, the most well known of which is probably the red root vegetable known as the garden beet....
 (beetroot), which is grown primarily for its edible roots.

The word Swiss was used to distinguish chard from French spinach
Spinach

Spinach is a flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. It is an annual plant , which grows to a height of up to 30 cm....
 varieties by nineteenth century seed catalog publishers.






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Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla), also known by the common name
Common name

A common name is a name in general use within a community . A common name is not necessarily a commonly used name.Many of the conventions and traditions described in this article are based on the English language, and thus may not apply to common names in other languages....
s Swiss Chard, Silverbeet, Perpetual Spinach, Spinach Beet, Crab Beet, Seakale Beet and Mangold, is a leafy vegetable
Vegetable

The term "vegetable" generally means the Eating parts of plants. The definition of the word is traditional rather than scientific, however, and therefore the usage of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective, as it is determined by individual cultural customs of food selection and food preparation....
 and a Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima. While the leaves are eaten, it is in the same species as the garden beet
Beet

The beet is a plant in the Amaranthaceae. It is best known its numerous cultivated varieties, the most well known of which is probably the red root vegetable known as the garden beet....
 (beetroot), which is grown primarily for its edible roots.

The word Swiss was used to distinguish chard from French spinach
Spinach

Spinach is a flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. It is an annual plant , which grows to a height of up to 30 cm....
 varieties by nineteenth century seed catalog publishers. The chard is very popular among Mediterranean cooks. The first varieties have been traced back to Sicily
Sicily

Sicily is an Autonomous regions with special statute of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km? and currently has just over five million inhabitants....
.

Chard can be harvested while the leaves are young and tender or after maturity when they are larger and have slightly tougher stems. Chard is extremely perishable.

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. Fresh young chard can be used raw in salad
Salad

Salad is a mixture of cold or hot foods, usually including vegetables and/or fruits, often with a dressing, occasionally nuts or croutons, and sometimes with the addition of meat, fish, pasta, cheese, eggs, or whole grains....
s. Mature chard leaves and stalks are typically cooked or sauteed; the bitter flavor fades with cooking.

Cultivar
Cultivar

A cultivar is a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics; it is usually distinct from similar plants and when Plant propagation it retains those characteristics....
s 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'.

Chard and the other beets are chenopods
Chenopodioideae

The Chenopodioideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae, formerly treated as a distinct family, Chenopodiaceae, and comprising all of the genera formerly included in this family except for those transferred to the subfamilies Salicornioideae and Salsoloideae....
, a group which is either its own family Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodiaceae

Chenopodiaceae is a family of flowering plants. Although widely recognized in most plant classifications , the APG system and the APG II system have included these plants in the family Amaranthaceae on the basis of evidence from molecular phylogenies....
 or a subfamily within the Amaranthaceae
Amaranthaceae

The flowering plant family Amaranthaceae, the Amaranth family, contains about 160 genera and 2,400 species. Most of these species are herbs or shrubs; very few are trees or climbers....
.

Chard is used in a variety of cultures around the world.

See also


  • Mangelwurzel
    Mangelwurzel

    Mangelwurzel or mangold wurzel , is a root vegetable of the family Chenopodiaceae, genus Beta . Its large white, yellow or orange-yellow swollen roots were developed in the 1700s for feeding livestock...