Fermented Swiss Chard Stems

By
Leda Meredith
Leda Meredith
Leda Meredith
Leda Meredith is a food writer and certified botanist who has written five books on foraging and preserving food.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 12/22/22
Tested by
Diana Andrews
Headshot of Diana Andrews
Tested by Diana Andrews
Diana earned her B.A. in Fine Art at Queens College and her culinary certification from the Institute of Culinary Education. Diana has served as head recipe developer and editor for Emmy-nominated PBS series Moveable Feast, food editor and test kitchen manager at Fine Cooking Magazine, and recipe developer, and product tester at Food Network.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
organic rainbow chard on cutting board
TC Morgan Photography/oment/Getty Images
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Fermentation Time: 96 hrs
Total: 96 hrs 5 mins
Servings: 16 servings

Chard's juicy, crunchy leafstalks deserve to be treated as a unique ingredient entirely separate from the leafy green parts. "Swiss" chard (they don't call it that in Switzerland, by the way) contains enough natural salts that it doesn't even need a salt brine to achieve lacto-fermentation. All you need is water and chard.

You can use any variety of chard for this recipe. Rainbow chard, with its multi-hued leafstalks, makes a particularly lovely ferment, but the white-stemmed chard is fine, too. By the way, beets are the same species as chard, so if you have a bunch of beet greens, feel free to use the leafstalks in this recipe.

Use fermented chard stems as a tasty salad ingredient, naturally rich in healthy probiotics, or add them to soups and casseroles.

"I really enjoy fermenting my own vegetables because it takes little effort with a big, healthy probiotic return. I used rainbow chard because I was curious to see if the brine would take on its beautiful reddish hue. It did!" —Diana Andrews

Fermented Swiss Chard Stems
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch Swiss chard, any variety

  • 2 cups filtered or non-chlorinated water, more as needed

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Wash the chard. Slice the green, leafy parts off of the thicker leafstalks and midribs. Reserve the leafy greens for another recipe.

  3. Chop the chard stems crosswise into 1/2 to 1-inch pieces. Put the pieces into a clean glass jar (it is not necessary to sterilize the jar for this recipe, but it should be scrupulously clean).

  4. Pour the non-chlorinated water over the chard pieces.

  5. Fill the jar all the way to the top, then loosely screw on the lid. The lid will keep the chard pieces submerged in the liquid. Place the jar on a small plate that will catch the overflow that may occur during the fermentation. Leave at room temperature for 24 hours.

  6. Remove the lid and check for signs of fermentation. You may see some bubbles on top, and the chard should start to have a light, pleasantly sour smell (think very mild sauerkraut).

    If there are no signs of fermentation yet, replace the lid and wait another 24 hours. Keep checking once a day, adding non-chlorinated water if necessary to keep the jar full.​

    Some of the chard pieces may darken slightly, especially those at the top of the jar. This does not affect their flavor.

  7. After 1 to 4 days, transfer the jar to the refrigerator to slow down the fermentation. Fermented chard will keep, refrigerated, for at least 6 months, but is best eaten within 3 months.

Tips

  • Most municipal tap water is chlorinated, and the chlorination can prevent a successful fermentation.
  • To get rid of the chlorine, you can filter the water, or simply leave it out overnight in a wide-mouthed vessel such as a pot - the chlorine will evaporate out within 12 to 24 hours.

Variations

  • Chard and beets are quite closely related, so if you wanted to add some beet greens to the jar, please do!
  • Try a combination of different color chards and beet greens. The fermenting liquid will take on a beautiful color.

How to Store

Fermented chard will keep, refrigerated, for at least 6 months, but is best eaten within 3 months.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
2 Calories
0g Fat
0g Carbs
0g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories 2
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 21mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 0g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 2mg 10%
Calcium 7mg 1%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 60mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)