Taste the Rainbow… Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Chard!

With it’s bouquet of wrinkled deep green and bronze leaves topping vibrant red, yellow, orange, white and purple stems, rainbow chard is an undeniably eye-catching vegetable that’s packed with minerals, vitamins, and nutrients. In fact, it’s so attractive that it’s often grown as an ornamental plant rather than a food crop!

There’s three main varieties of chard available through Produce Services of Los Angeles – green (a.k.a. Swiss), red, and rainbow, with the multi-colored version being the variety of choice among chefs because of it’s stunning array of colors. Rainbow chard is simply a colorful variation on the plain mono-colored chard – there’s no notable flavor difference between the different colors of stalks, although it’s important to note that pink, purple, or red stalks can leach color and stain kitchen linens just like how beets do.

Chard leaves are tender, with a relatively mild taste that’s similar to spinach or beet greens. Available year-round, chard is at it’s peak between June and August. When shopping, look for crisp, well-hydrated stalks topped with brightly-colored leaves that are vibrant and hold their shape – droopy, saggy leaves can mean that it’s past it’s prime, or been stored improperly.

Thanks to the fact that chard is a sturdy, heat-tolerant crop that can also thrive in cooler climates, it’s easy to grow in less-than-ideal conditions. It is, however, a favorite among deer, rabbits, and birds, so growers often need to protect their crops against damage from wildlife.

The first documented cultivation of rainbow chard was in 1597 in the book titled “The Herball or General History of Plantes” by British botanist John Gerard(e). Here in North American, commercial rainbow chard production began in 1888, when seeds for this leafy green first appeared in the Vilmorin Seed Catolog.

Other names for chard include silverbeet, seakale beet, and mangold, while in South Africa and parts of Australia, it’s simply known as spinach.

Freshly-harvested, young chard can be enjoyed raw in salads, while more mature chard is best served cooked to reduce the bitterness and soften up the leaves. Chard makes a great alternative to the strong flavor of kale, while managing to deliver comparable nutritional values – it has a mere 7 calories per 1-cup (36 gram) serving (raw), along with 2 grams each of dietary fiber and protein. It’s high in Vitamins A, C and K, and also contains notable levels of magnesium, potassium, beta-carotene and iron.

Complimentary flavors include lemon, garlic, sweet peppers, beets, tomatoes, and olive oil, as well as bacon, hard aged cheeses (Parmesan, Romano and Pecorino), roasted red meats, basil, and arugula. To avoid infusing your chard with a bitter, metallic flavor, never cook chard in an aluminum pot or pan.

It’s tender leaves can be used as a substitute for grain-based wraps, while the crunchy, fiberous stems can often be bitter, making them best reserved for use as a garnish (like nuts), inclusion in cooked dishes like pasta sauce, or for pickling.

Because chard is grown directly in soil, it’s important to give it a thorough washing by first soaking the chard in a large pot of cold water, then repeatedly rinsing the leaves and stalks to clear away any sand or soil. To store chard, keep it refrigerated and wrapped for up to three days.

So the next time you’re placing an order with your favorite wholesale produce company… Yes, your friends here at Produce Services of Los Angeles, why not include a case of rainbow chard? It’s a healthy, tasty, and eye-catching addition to dishes ranging from raw salads to pasta dishes and soups, and it’s a great way to provide your customers with milder alternative to kale!

Produce Services of Los Angeles, Inc. is a distributor of chard as well as a full line of other fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables.