How to Store Swiss Chard: 5 Tips for Keeping Chard Fresh

Swiss chard is a leafy green vegetable, closely related to beets and spinach. Its leaves resemble that of its beet cousins, but the most recognizable feature of chard is the color of its stalks: the white stalks of Swiss chard contrast with its dark green leaves, while Rainbow chard comes in colors ranging from deep red to bright yellow and orange. Swiss chard's leafy green leaves are tender with a bitter taste when eaten raw. Once cooked, the bitterness dissipates, turning into a mild, sweet taste similar to spinach. Swiss chard plants make healthy additions to a variety of dishes such as soups, stews, stir-frys, and casseroles.

You can keep Swiss chard fresh in the refrigerator anywhere from a few days up to a week if you follow the proper steps.

1. 1. Leave it unwashed. Do not wash your Swiss chard leaves before storing them in the fridge. Exposing them to water or excess moisture will speed up their spoilage.
2. 2. Wrap your Swiss chard. Loosely wrap your chard in a damp cloth or paper towel. This will help prevent the leaves from drying out or wilting.
3. 3. Keep the chard in a bag. Store your chard in a perforated or unsealed plastic bag, and place the bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.

If you have a bunch of extra Swiss chard from the summer and want to use it into the next season, you can freeze it. Frozen Swiss chard will last in the freezer for up to a year. Follow this guide to freeze your Swiss chard.

1. 1. Wash and separate the greens. Rinse your fresh greens under cold running water to clean them, then use a sharp paring knife or your hands to separate the leaf part from the stalk.
2. 2. Blanch your chard. Blanching Swiss chard before freezing preserves the flavor. You’ll need a large pot of boiling water along with a large bowl of ice water to blanch your chard. Use a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon to submerge the chard leaves in the boiling water. After one minute, remove the leaves from the hot water with a slotted spoon or tongs. Submerge the boiled leaves in the ice bath to halt the cooking process. (Depending on how much chard you’re freezing, you may need to do several small batches.)
3. 3. Drain and dry the Swiss chard. Put your blanched greens in a colander to drain the water. Squeeze the chard with your hands to remove any excess water.
4. 4. Freeze your vegetables for later use. Place the leaves and stems in separate airtight, freezer-safe bags. Remove any air from the bag to prevent freezer burn. (If you don’t own a vacuum sealer, you can use a straw to suck out the excess air from the bag.) Store your freezer bags full of Swiss chard in the back of the freezer to keep for at least a year.
   

Whether you’re harvesting Swiss chard from your garden or trying to pick the right bunch at the farmer’s market, there are a few rules of thumb to follow when working with Swiss chard. Follow these helpful tips on working with Swiss chard.

1. 1. Harvest at the right time. It’s important to know exactly when to harvest Swiss chard should you decide to grow it. Swiss chard is ready to harvest when its outer leaves are green and tender, and the stalks are about five to eight inches tall. To harvest your chard plants, use a sharp tool, such as pruners or a small, sharp knife to separate the older leaves from the plant. Do not harvest the entire plant. The young leaves will need more time to grow, and you can harvest later in the season.
2. 2. Pick the right chard. Look for firm stems and leaves with vibrant coloring when you’re picking Swiss chard out from the grocery store. Swiss chard that is starting to spoil will have soft leaves, spots of discoloration, and a funky odor. Avoid Swiss chard that has extensive pest damage.
3. 3. Wash and prep your chard. After you wash and dry the chard, stack the leaves together, and trim the rough stems at the end. These fibrous ends are too tough to eat. Fold each leaf in half lengthwise and cut out the stems. Stack the trimmed leaves and roll up tightly; slice across forming ribbons. If using the stems, cut them into one to two-inch pieces.
4. 4. Keep the stems. The leaves are often separated from the thick celery-like stems before cooking—but don’t toss out the stems. Cut them up for sautés, use them as veggie sticks for dips, and pickle them. They take a bit longer to cook, so start them in the pan before adding the leaves.
5. 5. Use within a few days. Use fresh chard within a week of harvesting or buying it. For cooked Swiss chard, keep the greens sealed in an airtight container. Cooked chard will last up to five days in the refrigerator. To defrost your Swiss chard, place the freezer bag in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, then place it in the fridge to thaw overnight. If you plan on using your frozen greens for a stew or stir-fry, you can toss the frozen Swiss chard directly into your cooking medium.

Become a better chef with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Alice Waters, Gabriela Cámara, Niki Nakayama, Chef Thomas Keller, Gordon Ramsay, Yotam Ottolenghi, Dominique Ansel, and more.