Chard
Latin Name: Beta vulgaris
Spanish: Acelga
Chard takes the form of big, beautiful, and bright rumply leaves. Known for incredibly vibrant multi-colored midribs give a sweet and earthy celery-like crunch, the leaves themselves are rich and succulent much like their spinach cousins.
Spinach and chard can be used fairly interchangeably, both raw and cooked. Both greens, like many other cousins in the Amaranth family, contain oxalic acids, which dry out the mouth and sort of stick to the teeth. Cooking your greens well helps to alleviate that factor, and cooking them well with good fats is a great way to make them melt-in-your-mouth tender.
Chard harvest with Isidora, Eva, and Merced at Gathering Together Farm in Philomath, Oregon in September of 2020.
With masks on during the height of the pandemic, we waded through dew-covered fields in the morning to harvest chard before the heat of the day wilts their leaves. One arm reaches down to snap the stems of suitable leaves that the eyes are darting around in search for, passing each leaf into the other hand and rotating the leaves as you go to build a stable, even, compact bunch. With a quick flick of the wrist, the twist tie binds the stems together, and in the same motion it tucks under the elbow against the hip as you reach down to snap the stems for the next bunch.
Chard Recipes
Recipe from Kara Lydon Nutrition