How To Clean Swiss Chard

How To Clean Swiss Chard? Swiss Chard happens to be one of the easiest green vegetables to clean and prep. It’s a vegetable loaded with iron, vitamins, and antioxidants and is available in your produce section all year long.

By following our easy-to-follow steps, you will be able to incorporate this nutrient-dense vegetable into a variety of recipes.

What is Swiss Chard?

• Swiss chard is a dark leafy green vegetable with long large leaves and white or colorful stalks.
•  It is a vegetable that is entirely edible, including leaves and stems.
• The large green leaves can be chopped and added to salads.
• But once this vegetable is cooked entirely and with a few staple ingredients, like our recipe for Swiss Chard Steamed with Tomatoes, it becomes a very sweet-tasting vegetable similar to spinach. And, it is even better!

What To Look For When Buying It?

• The large leaves should be crisp, firm, dark green in color, and stand up, not flop over.

• No yellowing or yellow spots on any leaves or stems.

• Its long stalks should be firm, not soft, or able to bend easily.

What to do when you bring it home?

First, when you get home, decide if you want to store it or use it the same day for a recipe.

1. If you decide to save it: keep it chilled in your fridge, but it is best to use it within 1 day or two. After that, the vegetable will begin to wilt and get old.

2. If you decide to use it the same day: you can chop, wash and drain it (see my notes below). Then you can either leave it in the colander and set it aside or transfer it to a large zip-lock bag until you are ready to use it for a recipe.

How to Clean Swiss Chard? (3-Easy Steps)

This is a simple method of cleaning Swiss chard properly and the easiest way.

Step 1: Chop The Chard:

a. First, take out your cutting board. Remove the tie from the chard. Then use a sharp knife and begin to chop the chard, starting with the stalks. Chop the stalks, into about 1/2-inch thick pieces.

b. Then transfer to a large pot (and place the pot inside your sink).

c. Next, continue to chop the leaves, by holding the bunch leaves tightly together and begin to chop them.

Step 2: Submerge in Cold Water:

1. Toss everything into a large pot and run the faucet, cool the water and fill the pot.

2. Sprinkle some salt over them, this will help pull any soil or sand down from their delicate leaves.

3. Then use your hand to push the chard down, to “drown the chard” a few times.

Final Step: To Drain:

Drain the chard in a large colander, or drain in small batches, if needed. NOTE: If you feel the chard was very sandy when you brought it home, you can repeat and rinse it the second time, to be sure the soil is gone.

Now Your Swiss Chard is Ready!

QUICK TIPS For Storing and Freezing:

1. If you plan to save cleaned chard, it is best to spin out the excess water with a salad spinner. Then transfer it into a sealed bag and save it in the fridge.

2. If you plan to cook it, it is completely fine to leave the chard wet. No need to spin out excess water.

3. To Freeze: Always freeze Swiss chard that has been cleaned, and spun dry, in a sealed zip-lock bag. Then freeze it for up to one month.

With our easy-to-follow steps, you will be able to enjoy this delicious vegetable for years to come!

Here are a Few Recipes for You to Enjoy…

• Swiss Chard Steamed with Tomatoes
• Tuscan Swiss Chard and Beans Soup
• Tuscan Tortellini Soup (with Swiss Chard)

Additional “How-To” with Veggies…

• How To Clean Artichokes (+video)
• How to Clean Brussels Sprouts
• Blanching and Steaming Vegetables
• How to Grill Zucchini Perfectly
• How to Clean Broccoli Properly (+video)

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Thanks for stopping by!

Happy and Healthy Life 🙂

xo anna and liz