We have a big problem in Italy: as there are so many regional dialects etc. we have some problems sometimes translating words as we don't know what to look for on the dictionary.....
This is about vegetables: spinach like greens that I suppose that are called Swiss chard in GB...
The question is: is there a different word for coste and erbette in English? (Alice and Diana should probably know what I'm talking about...) or it's all like the Central Italian bietole? How would you call that in the US?

Giulia -- my Italian nonna used to refer to what we call Swiss Chard as bietole...I don't recognize the other words, and when I tried using Babel Fish to translate them, got no help. Too bad we don't have pictures -- that might help.

Pictures!
This is what I call COSTE

and this is erbette....

Giulia...

Coste is swiss chard. Erbette can be beet greens (or baby spinach can be used in its place). In the US I am not familiar with a range of green leafy vegetables which is truly equal to what I can find here in Piemonte...dandilion greens etc.

Di

While swiss chard is called coste in Piemonte, here in Tuscany it is Bietola. I always have to stop for a second and think when preparing recipes because my nonna always called it coste but here I had to learn a whole nother language

Diana, we have dandelion greens here (at least in NY metro area) and lots of other greens.

M

Cristina,
the problem is that in Le Marche bietola is either coste or erbette... anyway I think that I will stick to the swiss chard vs. beet greens that Diana suggests...
Diana, how about catalogna? I think that it's called chicory?

Marian... I know there is a good selection in US cities...but I swear, here, the old ladies go into our field in the spring, and pick bags and bags of greens. What they pick? A mixture of many different things. Wild spinach (a little branch with fine leaves, very flavorful) and lots of "secret things" they won't even tell me about for fear I will pick it all out of my own field!!!

Greens takes on a whole new meaning here.

I am not sure, Giulia, I am still a "dilitante" with this!!!

Di

I can't think about you as a dilettante, Diana!
I know what you mean about the wonderful huge bags of secret things coming directly from the fields in spring and autumn!!! Some of the secret things are quite easy to recognize though!
You can collect and eat anything looking like dandelion leaves ("dentate" leaves) "furry" or not they're all edible and there are loads of them, and poppy leaves.