resemblance to swiss cheese. [citation needed] The Chard is very popular among Mediterranean cooks but the first varieties have been traced back to Sicily. In the US the leaves are valued while European cooks value the stalks to the point of discarding the leaves or feeding them to animals[citation needed].Chard can be harvested while the leaves

are young and tender or after maturity when larger have slightly tougher stems. Chard is extremely perishable, so keep refrigerator storage time to a minimum. Store unwashed leaves in plastic bags in the crisper for 2 to 3 days. The stalks can be stored longer if separated from the leaves.

Chard has shiny green ribbed leaves, with stems that range from white to yellow and red depending on the cultivar. It has a

slightly bitter taste. The leaves are generally treated in the same way as spinach and the stems like asparagus. Fresh young chard can also be used raw in salads.

Cultivars of chard include green forms, such as 'Lucullus' and 'Fordhook Giant,' as well as red-ribbed forms such as 'Ruby Chard,' 'Rainbow Chard,' and 'Rhubarb Chard.'

Modern cladistic botanical taxonomic systems such as that of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group place chard and the other beets in family Amaranthaceae, but the older systems more likely to be encountered in horticultural sources place them in a family Chenopodiaceae.