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Alliums:   onion   leek   springonion   Brassica Sprouts:   broccoli   cauliflower   cabbage   mustard   radish canola chinese cabbage
Leafy Sprouts:  alfalfa   flax  beet   swisschard red clover   Nuts/Seeds:   sesame   sunflower   pumpkin   apricot kernels 
Pulses:   blackeyedpeas   sugarbeans   yellowpeas  chickpeas   peas   dunnpeas   lentils   mungbeans  soybean  lupin adzuki beans
peanuts   fababeans   blackeyedbeans   Spices:   fenugreek   poppyseed  Grains:   wheat   buckwheat   popcorn 
Other:   hempseed  


Swiss chard is a type of beet that is grown for its large leaf stalks and leaves. It produces no enlarged fleshy roots. It is low in calories and minerals and a good source of vitamins A and C. Chard leaves are best prepared like spinach or beet greens - cooking with only the water that clings to them following washing.

Chard - Beta vulgaris cicla

Chard (also known as Swiss chard) is a member of the beet family that can be successfully grown as a vegetable green.

The ancestral form of all beets (Swiss Chard, garden beets, fodderbeets, and sugar beets) is the wild Sea Beet (Beta maritima), distributed throughout the Mediterranean and Near Eastern areas. The wild form is very variable and adaptable, with branched taproots and varying sugar content. Swiss Chard, the main root of which is not swollen, was already being cultivated as a leaf vegetable in Greece by around 400 B.C. Through mutation, varieties have been developed with widened leaf stalks which are used as a vegetable similar to asparagus. It was not until the late 16th century that large-root beets, a branching-off from the leaf-vegetable line, were described in German literature.

Swiss chard isn't native to Switzerland, but the Swiss botanist Koch determined the scientific name of this plant in the 19th century and since then, its name has honored his homeland. The actual homeland of chard lies further south, in the Mediterranean region, and in fact, the Greek philosopher, Aristotle wrote about chard in the fourth century B.C. This is not surprising given the fact that the ancient Greeks, and later the Romans, honored chard for its medicinal properties. Chard got its common name from another Mediterranean vegetable, cardoon, a celery-like plant with thick stalks that resemble those of chard. The French got the two confused and called them both "carde."


If vegetables got grades for traditional nutrients alone, Swiss chard would be the vegetable valedictorian. The vitamin and mineral profile of this leafy green vegetable contains enough "excellents" to ensure Swiss chard's place at the head of any vegetable Dean's List. Our rating system awards Swiss chard with excellent marks for its concentrations of vitamin K, vitamin A, magnesium, vitamin C, biotin, potassium, iron, vitamin E, fiber, manganese and riboflavin. Swiss chard also emerges as a very good source of copper, vitamin B6, calcium, phosphorus, protein and pantothenic acid, and a good source of thiamin, zinc, niacin, folate and selenium.


 


Scientific Name: Beta vulgaris (Cicla Group)
Nutrient Units Value per
100 grams of
edible portion 		Sample
Count 		Std.
Error
Proximates        
Water g 92.66 2  
Energy kcal 19 0  
Energy kj 79 0  
Protein g 1.80 1  
Total lipid (fat) g 0.20 1  
Ash g 1.60 0  
Carbohydrate, by difference g 3.74 0  
Fiber, total dietary g 1.6 0  
Minerals        
Calcium, Ca mg 51 1  
Iron, Fe mg 1.80 1  
Magnesium, Mg mg 81 2  
Phosphorus, P mg 46 1  
Potassium, K mg 379 2  
Sodium, Na mg 213 2  
Zinc, Zn mg 0.36 0  
Copper, Cu mg 0.179 0  
Manganese, Mn mg 0.366 0  
Selenium, Se mcg 0.9 0  
Vitamins        
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid mg 30.0 1  
Thiamin mg 0.040 1  
Riboflavin mg 0.090 1  
Niacin mg 0.400 1  
Pantothenic acid mg 0.172 0  
Vitamin B-6 mg 0.099 0  
Folate, total mcg 14 0  
Folic acid mcg 0 0  
Folate, food mcg 14 0  
Folate, DFE mcg_DFE 14 0  
Vitamin B-12 mcg 0.00 0  
Vitamin A, IU IU 3300 1  
Retinol mcg 0 0  
Vitamin A, RAE mcg_RAE 165 1  
Vitamin E mg_ATE 1.890 0  
Lipids        
Fatty acids, total saturated g 0.030 0  
4:0 g 0.000 0  
6:0 g 0.000 0  
8:0 g 0.000 0  
10:0 g 0.000 0  
12:0 g 0.000 0  
14:0 g 0.000 0  
16:0 g 0.030 0  
18:0 g 0.000 0  
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated g 0.040 0  
16:1 undifferentiated g 0.000 0  
18:1 undifferentiated g 0.040 0  
20:1 g 0.000 0  
22:1 undifferentiated g 0.000 0  
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated g 0.070 0  
18:2 undifferentiated g 0.063 0  
18:3 undifferentiated g 0.007 0  
18:4 g 0.000 0  
20:4 undifferentiated g 0.000 0  
20:5 n-3 g 0.000 0  
22:5 n-3 g 0.000 0  
22:6 n-3 g 0.000 0  
Cholesterol mg 0 0  
Amino acids        
Tryptophan g 0.017 4  
Threonine g 0.083 4  
Isoleucine g 0.147 4  
Leucine g 0.130 4  
Lysine g 0.099 7  
Methionine g 0.019 6  
Phenylalanine g 0.110 4  
Valine g 0.110 4  
Arginine g 0.117 4  
Histidine g 0.036 4  

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 15 (August 2002

Alliums:   onion   leek   springonion   Brassica Sprouts:   broccoli   cauliflower   cabbage   mustard   radish canola chinese cabbage
Leafy Sprouts:  alfalfa   flax  beet   swisschard red clover   Nuts/Seeds:   sesame   sunflower   pumpkin   apricot kernels 
Pulses:   blackeyedpeas   sugarbeans   yellowpeas  chickpeas   peas   dunnpeas   lentils   mungbeans  soybean  lupin adzuki beans
peanuts   fababeans   blackeyedbeans   Spices:   fenugreek   poppyseed  Grains:   wheat   buckwheat   popcorn 
Other:   hempseed  

home   about   products   kitchen garden seed varieties   sprouting guide   nutritional benefits  
online purchase  books about sprouting   contact   comments and guestbook   ask the expert recipes and menus