Swiss chard is considered a powerhouse of nutrition, rated in the top ten of many lists of super foods. The colorful Rainbow and Rhubarb varieties rank high on the pleasing plate list, too.

Chard is in the same family as beets and spinach, all of them descendants of sea beet or sea kale, a wild seashore plant found growing along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Europe.

Farmers bred chard over the centuries for leaf production at the expense of root
formation. Now, if left to fully mature, its leaves can grow to resemble elephant ears.

It’s not clear how it got its name. “Chard” comes from the Latin word “cardus”, meaning thistle. And “Swiss” is just a mystery. Some historians think it got that part of its name because it was identified as a distinct variety by a Swiss botanist. Other than that, it has no known links to the mountainous European country.

The plant has numerous other monikers, including silver beet, Roman kale, and strawberry spinach.

Swiss chard is an excellent source of vitamins K, A, and C, as well as a good source of magnesium, potassium, iron, and dietary fiber.

One cup of chopped Swiss chard has just 35 calories.

Swiss chard is used as a salad green and a leaf vegetable, making it a versatile ingredient in the kitchen. It can be used both raw and cooked; cooking will give the leaves a milder flavor.

 Chard can also be used as a substitute for spinach and in tandem with other hardy greens such as kale, leaf mustards and collards.

Complimentary ingredients include citrus, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, olive oil, grains such as rice and barley, artichokes, beets, roasted meats and chicken, bacon, cream, cheeses such as pecorino and parmesan and herbs such as basil and arugula.