Its family belongs to Chenopodiaceae. They are featured with big green leaves that, according to the variety, can have red, white or yellow stem.
Chards are a vegetable which is very much appreciated thanks to valid nutrient properties. They contain a good dose of vitamins and fibres. As we will see better later, they have extraordinary benefits for health.
Chards, on a botanic point of view, are tightly related to beetroots.
While the latter are mostly consumed for their roots, the chards are instead grown for their leaves.
If consumed raw they can be bitter. If, instead, cooked they lose their bitter taste and become delicious and delicate, with a taste which resembles the spinach leaves. One of the most used ways to cook them is to sauté them on the pan.
Their anti-oxidative properties, together with the other nutrients and the potassium have a beneficial effect on the blood pressure. They protect the cardiovascular system against the stress.
The nutrients present in the chards are, in fact, able to neutralize the enzymes that cause inflammations and hypertension. Moreover, they have preventively beneficial effects against arteriosclerosis, heart-attacks and strokes.
Although chards are available on market all over the year, on a health point of view, it is recommended to consume them on the winter season. At that time, in fact, the leaves are darker and have a bigger quantity of nutrients and organoleptic properties. The consumption of chards becomes particularly interesting when combined with legumes; Chards are rich in vitamins and minerals while legumes are high in proteins and vitamins. The chards favour the digestion of legumes and have carminative properties, they prevent the formation of intestine gases, typical of legumes consumption.
The chards must not be over cooked, as they will lose almost all their organoleptic properties, particularly the vitamins would be in less quantity and their taste. Once cooked, chards need to be consumed immediately, as it is a vegetable that tends to ferment.
The best chards are the young and tender ones with a dark and lucid colour.