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| Red-Stemmed Chard |
It was love at first sight.
I’m talking about red-stemmed Swiss chard, surely among the most attractive of leafy edibles, with its ruby stems and veins coursing through a nutritious, deep green landscape.
Red, gold and purple stemmed chards are newer cultivars of the older green-stemmed variety. And from what I’ve read in various sources, there is nothing Swiss about it. Chard originated in the Mediterranean, where the French now call it blette and the Italians bietole. It was a Swiss botanist (Koch) who gave chard its scientific name. Seed catalogs in the 19th Century added the Swiss name to distinguish chard seeds from those of the cardoon because evidently the French were calling both plants carde due to their similar thick stems. (One source of the saga is here.)
When cooked, chard melts into a grayish green shade, retaining little of its former glory. It also bears flavor that may put off some eaters at first. Chard tastes earthy like its cousin the beet. Perfect for a gratin.
