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If you've hated Spinach from your childhood because you were fed it from tins, try the fresh or the frozen -- the taste will be completely different.

When you are buying Spinach fresh, look for small, narrow stems -- this indicates the Spinach is younger and therefore more tender. Make sure you wash fresh Spinach really well to get all the sand and grit out, or everyone will be grinding their teeth at the table.

To prepare, remove the stems, and put the Spinach in a sink full of water. Swish the leaves around assertively, and then let stand for a few minutes so the sand can fall out and to the bottom of the sink. Remove the Spinach before you drain the sink so that the sand doesn't get caught back up in the leaves.

Spinach is an annual plant.

Cooking Tips
Wash Spinach in salted water. To steam Spinach, place in covered saucepan with no water -- just Spinach, and cover for a few minutes. Cook only until wilted.

If a recipe asks you to drain cooked Spinach really well, put it in a colander in the sink and press down on it using a small bread plate.

Substitutes
Swiss Chard, beet leaves

Nutrition
Per 85g / 1.5 cups: 19 calories, 2.5g protein, .3g fat, 3g carbohydrates, 374mg potassium.

Though Spinach is high in iron and calcium, the oxalic acid also in Spinach prevents all of it from being available to the body.

It is a good source of vitamin A (the 85g serving provides 114% of your recommended daily intake.)

Equivalents
One pound (450g / 12 cups) fresh = 1 cup cooked / tinned = 10 oz (280g) frozen = 5 oz (140g) frozen (thawed and drained)

Storage
Thoroughly dry by using a salad spinner or by blotting with paper towels. Wrap in dry paper towels and seal in a plastic bag for storage.

Freezing: Wash, remove stems. Blanch (not steaming) for 2 minutes. Plunge in cold water, drain, package, and freeze.

History
Spinach is probably native to Persia (Iran), and was being cultivated there before 300 AD. But, it remained outside the Greek and Roman Empires, and was never known by them (source: A. de Candolle 1884.) It reached China in the mid 7th century; the Arabs brought it with them when they invaded Spain. It became popular in Spain, but by the 1500s it was still a novelty in Italy, and it only reached Britain in the middle of that century.

French classic chefs considered it a delicate vegetable because in their mind, unlike other vegetables, it did not impose its taste on a dish, but rather the taste could be moulded. Generations of children since then might beg to disagree.

Literature & Lore
The English word "Spinach" comes from the old French word, "eSpinache"

Also called:

See Also:

Oxalic Acid

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