Organic Heirloom Ruby Red Swiss Chard Seeds

Organic Heirloom Ruby Red Swiss Chard Seeds (20)

'Ruby Red' chard will beautify your garden as well as your plate! An 1850s vigorous grower with a long growing season, it will provide fresh greens from early summer into fall, and year-round in mild climates. Packed with vitamins and minerals, young leaves are great for salads. Any size leaves can be steamed, stir-fried, added to lasagna, omelets, soups, and stews, and mixed with other greens. Good container variety.Candy-apple red stems with dark green, red-veined leaves.
Great as a true red color in salad mix.
NOTE: Young Ruby Red plants may bolt to seed if exposed to frosts; time sowings to avoid frost on seedlings. Decorticated (rubbed),Description/Taste
Red Swiss chard has broad, wavy and wrinkled bronzed green leaves with contrasting crimson red leaf stalks. The ruby red stalks extend into red veins throughout the plant's leaves. Red Swiss chard's flavor profile shares the earthiness of a beet green with the salinity of spinach. The red stalks are fibrous, often bitter and succulent, as they carry the bulk of the plant's water content. Both the leaves and the stalk are edible.

Seasons/Availability
Red Swiss chard is available year-round.

Current Facts
Red Swiss chard, botanical name Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla var. Flavescens, is the common name given to several Red Swiss chard varieties such as Magenta Sunset, Rhubarb and Vulcan. Betalain pigments are found in the stalks and leaves. These pigments are responsible for the plants vivid red colorings. They are also a vital utility for the plant's survival, attracting bees and insects for pollination while also providing natural UV protection. The plant also carries traces of geosmin, which is a volatile molecule displaying a wet-earth and woody aroma. That aroma can be assimilated on the palate, as volatile molecules set off the mouth's taste receptors.

Nutritional Value
Chard is known to be a nutritional powerhouse vegetable packed with vitamins, nutrients and health benefits. Red Swiss chard contains high levels of vitamins C, K, E, beta-carotene, calcium and the minerals manganese and zinc. As noted, it also contains betalain. Betalin pigments have repeatedly been shown to support activity within the body's detoxification process, activating and processing unwanted toxic substances. Betalians are not heat-stable, though, so longer cooking times can decrease their presence.

Applications
Most people do not associate Swiss chard varieties with Switzerland, regardless of the given name. As Red Swiss chard is native to the Mediterranean region, many recipes and applications are of Mediterranean influence. Red Swiss chard can be served raw or cooked. It can be sauteed, blanched, stewed, baked, even grilled. It can be added to salads, pastas, pizza, bruschetta, gratins and soups. The chard stalks are edible and add texture and flavor to the dishes they’re cooked into. Complimentary ingredient pairings include citrus, tomatoes, garlic, chickpeas, white beans, aged and melting cheeses, cream, mushrooms, bacon, fennel and herbs such as basil, tarragon and chervil.

Geography/History
As its genus, Beta vulgaris, suggests, chard is, in fact, a beet that has been chosen for leaf production at the expense of root formation. All chard varieties are descendents of the sea beet (B. maritima), a wild seashore plant found growing along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Europe and North Africa. Red Swiss chard varieties were already being cultivated as a leaf vegetable in Greece circa 400 B.C. Through mutation, varieties have been developed with widened leaf stalks, milder flavor, soil adaptability and disease resistance. Most Red Swiss chard varieties tolerate a wide range of soils and weather conditions with ease.

Recipe Ideas
Recipes that include Red Swiss Chard. One is easiest, three is harder.
Wholehearted Eats Rainbow Rolls with Creamy Miso
Rose Water & Orange Blossoms Garlicky Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard and Lemon
The Vintage Mixer Swiss Chard and Ricotta Cakes
Herbivoracious Swiss Chard, Onion and Monterey Jack-Filled Vegetarian Enchiladas in a Tomatillo Salsa
Cake Batter and Bowl Champagne Salmon with Swiss Chard Quinoa
White on Rice Couple Grilled Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Swiss Chard and Pineapple
Pro Bono Baker Chard with Olives, Lemon & Mozzarella
Just a Little Bit of Bacon Swiss Chard Chips
Cooking 4 the Week Pickled Swiss Chard Stems
Chick in the Kitchen Swiss Chard & Gruyère Frittata