Q&A for How to Prepare and Cook Swiss Chard

Certainly, you can eat the stems of Swiss chard. Wash them before cooking. They may need to be finely chopped if they’re thick (usually the case when the stems are on more mature, older chard), while younger, thinner stems can be chopped more widely, sliced or halved and added to stir-fries or other dishes.

The best way to cook Swiss chard depends on whether you’re focusing on it or adding it to a main meal. For example, if you want to cook it as a side dish, it is probably best to saute the chard, using your choice of oil, butter or water. If you want to add the chard to something, a typical choice is stir-fry but it can also be great in dishes like lasagna or vegetable pie.

You can eat all of the Swiss chard, both the leaves and the stems. If the stems are older and thick, chop them finely; if younger and fine, chop widely or use as sliced halves. Always wash well before eating raw or for cooking.

To cook chard stalks, wash them first. If the stalks are thick, then cut finely; if thin, cut into wide pieces or halve into slices. The stems can be steamed, sauteed, stir-fried or added to lasagna, baked dishes, omelets, etc. Remember that the stalks will take longer than the leaves to cook, because they’re thicker, and that the leaves will shrink to half or more of their original size once cooked.

Yes, you can eat Swiss chard raw, and many people think raw Swiss chard nicer than raw kale. Also, it is usually less bitter when raw than after cooking. All the same, it’s always a good idea to try a little first, to be sure you’ll like it. To eat Swiss chard raw, wash and dry all of the chard first, then cut the stalk into fine pieces and shred the leaves. Add to a salad, plus your usual dressing, croutons, etc., then eat and enjoy!

In the small amounts we’d usually use for cooking and eating, Swiss chard is a healthy leafy vegetable. However, it does contain a small amount of oxalic acid in both the leaves and stalks, which can upset people who have a sensitivity to oxalic acid if too much is consumed. As such, if you are prone to getting kidney stones, it's a very good idea to avoid eating large amounts of Swiss chard. Talk to your doctor if you have any concerns.

Swiss chard is ready to be harvested from the time its leaves are young, small, and tender, through to when they’re large, mature and less tender (but still great). Choose the stage of growth to harvest according to the cooking or salad use you need it for. To pick, use a clean pair of sharp scissors and snip each stalk at its base (or, if you prefer, you can slice at the base of the stalks using a knife). Once harvested, wash and dry the leaves in readiness for eating or cooking. Freshly picked Swiss chard will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. After harvesting, the chard left growing will continue to produce new leaves until the first frost.

Swiss chard and silverbeet is the same vegetable. There is just a tendency with some gardeners to call it Swiss chard when it has colorful red, yellow or orange stalks, and silverbeet when it has a white stalk. The term "chard" tends to be used more commonly in North America, while the term "silverbeet" is used more often in Australia and New Zealand. Neither chard nor silverbeet is spinach, a confusion sometimes made by gardeners and cooks alike.

Yes, but it will taste less bitter when cooked, and the stems can be quite thick.

No, just cut it about 3-4" from the bottom so it grows again for another feed.

You can if you like the taste of it. The flavor of it is all your choice.

When it's big enough for you to want to eat it. You can take individual leaves from each plant in the patch, just like perpetual spinach or rhubarb, so that a single plant isn't being given too much of a regenerative task. If you do want to pick all the leaves from one plant, detach from the base one at a time so that the central stem or 'crown' remains, then it should regrow. Always pick and eat any flowering stalks from bolting plants as soon as possible by nipping out the central stem (this seems to be a more common problem with red-veined varieties).