(Beta Vulgaris)

Silver Beet is often mistaken for spinach but is not, although they are both part of the Amaranthaceous family. This plant is often called spinach in New South Wales and Queensland. Silver Beet or Swiss chard, as it also referred as, is in fact a close relative of the Beetroot. The two are a variety of the same species but Silver Beet is grown for its leaves and stem.

An interesting aspect of Silver Beet is that in Australia and the US, the leaves are valued but in Europe, chefs value the stalks, so much that they even discard the leaves to their pets. The first variety of Silver Beet can be traced all the way back to Sicily rather than Switzerland. The chard is very popular among Mediterranean cooks.

Silver Beet is known as a cool climate plant but it grows just as well in warmer climates. It can almost be sown all year round in the north while it is sown from early spring to early autumn in cold districts. Chard is usually harvested either while the leaves are younger and tender or after they mature which is when they are larger and their stems are slightly tougher yet they are always quick to perish.

Chards have shiny green ribbed leaves and stems which vary from white to yellow and red depending on the cultivar. It has a faint bitter taste and while fresh and young can be used raw in salads. Mature stalks and leaves are generally cooked or sautéed. As the plant is prepared the bitter flavor fades.

Silver Beet is classified as:

Kingdom: Plantae

Subkingdom: Tracheobionta

Super Division: Spermatophyta

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Subclass: Caryophyllidae

Order: Caryophyllales                                                       

Family: Amaranthaceae

Genus: Beta

Species: Vulgaris