Swiss chard. For many, you either love it or hate it. Swiss chard is one of the most versatile leafy greens you can grow, and is much more heat tolerant than other popular green vegetables like spinach and lettuce. The stalks also add a lot of vibrant colors to dishes.
The problem is that they tend to have earthy flavors, described commonly as “dirt-like”. This is a natural characteristic of Swiss chard, and fortunately, whether you’ve picked it at the grocery store or in the garden, there are ways to reduce these off-flavors.
The earthy, dirt-like taste of Swiss chard comes from the presence of geosmin, a compound naturally found in chard and beets.
While the earthiness of Swiss chard occurs naturally regardless of growing conditions, bitter chard is often caused by hot, dry conditions. The bitterness can be in both the leaves and the stem.
To avoid getting bitter Swiss chard to begin with, make sure your chard doesn’t dry out, and if possible, plant in a partially shaded area. You can also grow Swiss chard in pots and move it to the shade during heat waves.
Swiss chard can safely be eaten raw, and some gardeners even prefer it raw. Raw Swiss chard leaves and stalks can be used in salads. Stalks can be mixed with carrots, celery, and other vegetables and fruits to make a colorful veggie dip platter.
The greens are more mild than spinach, with a sweet, earthy flavor and a bit of bitterness when eaten raw. When cooked, the bitterness lessens, and that sweet, earthy flavor (think beets) becomes more prevalent.
How to Make Swiss Chard Taste Less Earthy
The highest levels of geosmin are in the stalks and veins, so you can remove the stalks and eat only the leaves to avoid most of the earthiness. Swiss chard leaves taste very similar to spinach and can even substitute for it in some dishes.
However, those who are growing Swiss chard for the stalks can use several strategies to draw out or mask geosmin and make the stalks taste less earthy.
If you are using Swiss chard stalks in cooked dishes, you can parboil or blanch them before using them and discard the water (or let the water cool down and give your plants a drink).
You can also use Swiss chard in more heavily spiced or seasoned dishes, which will mask the earthy geosmin. Braising and stir-frying can also hide some of the earthiness.
Pickling Swiss chard like celery stalks can also greatly mask any dirt-like flavors, but I would still give them a blanch before pickling.
There are also some varieties that have a milder flavor. White-stemmed varieties, such as Lucullus, Umaina Japanese Swiss chard, Silverado, and Fordhook Giant generally have a milder flavor than red-stemmed varieties.
While the earthiness of Swiss chard occurs naturally regardless of growing conditions, bitter chard is often caused by hot, dry conditions. The bitterness can be in both the leaves and the stem.
To avoid getting bitter Swiss chard to begin with, make sure your chard doesn’t dry out, and if possible, plant in a partially shaded area. You can also grow Swiss chard in pots and move it to the shade during heat waves.
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