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Dumb question of the night...is swiss chard the top (the leaf) of beets?


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Not a dumb question at all!!!!!!!

 

Beets and chard are actually the same plant species, Beta vulgaris (although chard is its own subspecies). There are some beets that are not chards, but are grown more for their tops than their roots, so it is easy to get confused. Also, there are red leaved beets and red leaved chards ....

 

Since these plants have been cultivated for thousands of years (if not longer), people have bred these plants so that there are many, many varieties. That happens in a lot of cultivated food plants -- plants that are actually of the same species botanically can be quite distinct in culinary terms.

 

pix of beets

http://www.johnnyseeds.com//catalog/subcategory.aspx?category=1&subcategory=9

 

pix of chard

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/subcategory.aspx?category=1&subcategory=52

Edited by Alessandra
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