Chard (leaf beet) is more of a vegetable than greens
– a large plant up to 60-70 cm high. Chard is very
beautiful – it decorates a vegetable garden and even a flower garden,
red-peted varieties with carved leaves are especially beautiful.
Chard grows best, developing a beautiful rosette,
on fertile and loose, non-acidic soils with sufficient
moisture. Brightly colored stalks and elegant
chard leaves invariably attract attention and are a
good decoration for the garden. For compact, leafy varieties of
chard, the recommended distance between plants is
about 25 cm, for petioled varieties with large leaves
– twice as much.
For decorative purposes, gardeners grow various varieties of chard,
among which the varieties stand out:
- green petiole (with green petioles and leaves, the rosette is semi-erect
or semi -spread); - silvery-petioled (with silvery-white petioles, wavy
or corrugated leaves are dark green or yellow-green, the rosette is
straight or semi-erect); - red-petiolate (with red-crimson or red-violet petioles,
leaves are dark green with red veins, the rosette is straight or semi-erect); - yellow-petiolate (with yellow or orange petioles, dark green leaves
with golden veins, half-erect rosette).
Useful properties of chard
Fresh Swiss chard contains (per 100 g):
Calories 19 Kcal
Young leaves and petioles are eaten, which
contain carbohydrates, nitrogenous substances, organic
acids, carotene (up to 6 mg%), vitamins
C (up to 60 mg%), B, B2,
O, PP, P,
potassium and calcium salts,
phosphorus, iron,
lithium, etc.
Beetroot – Swiss chard – is rich in vitamins,
tastes very good , and in terms of yield it is
among the leaders: one plant is able to produce more than
1 kg of selected leaves and petioles.
Swiss chard is highly prized in the early spring period, when
green vitamin products are still scarce. It is used
for making salad, vinaigrette, soups, beetroot soup,
cold snacks and main courses – stewed in butter and lard,
like spinach. The petioles are boiled in salted water
and fried with breadcrumbs in oil. Leaves are fermented separately
or together with cabbage. The petioles can be pickled like
cucumbers (by slicing and inserting vertically into jars to size).
Mangold also has medicinal properties. It is very
useful to use for diabetes, anemia,
kidney stones, high blood pressure. Eating
it in food improves the functioning of the liver, cardiovascular
system, promotes the growth of children, stimulates the activity of the
lymphatic system and increases the body’s resistance
against colds. Chard is also recommended to be
used against radiation sickness. Chard root gruel
is a good remedy for baldness.
Mangold is used in cooking around the world
to prepare a variety of dishes. This tasty and
medicinal plant is very useful for obesity, diabetes,
kidney stones, anemia. In cooking,
young leaves and cuttings are used until they are juicy and callous.
Chard is successfully used to decorate dishes.
To this end, its delicate leaves can replace the traditionally
used lettuce leaves. Put
chard leaves on the dish, and
you can put any cold appetizer on top of them .
Mangold is widely used in the preparation of various
vitamin dishes in dietary
nutrition. It is good for cooking cabbage soup, borscht
and, of course, various salads. Stewed Swiss chard
is an original appetizer for vermicelli or as a side dish for meat.
Dangerous properties of chard
Since Swiss chard contains more
vitamin K than the body needs, it is important to
keep it in moderation. After all, even useful vitamins
can be harmful if the correct dosage is not followed.
So, an excess of vitamin K can lead to blood viscosity, an increase in
platelets. Therefore, it is highly undesirable to consume foods rich in
vitamin K, patients with thrombophlebitis, varicose veins,
some types of migraines, patients with high cholesterol levels.
Since chard contains oxalic
acid, it is recommended, like spinach, to
boil it for a short time before use , and drain the water in order to get rid of it.
The thing is that oxalic acid has the property of crystallizing,
and therefore products containing this acid are not allowed for
those who have problems with the gallbladder and kidneys.
Because of the harmful volatiles in Swiss chard, drinking
large amounts of freshly squeezed juice can cause vomiting,
nausea, decreased heart rate, and increased sleepiness. Therefore, it is advised to
drink it only a couple of hours after spinning.
The video will tell you about the beneficial properties of chard, as well as how to grow it properly.
