Spinach

This cool season leafy green will appear a few times in your weekly share in the spring and fall.

Cooking Tips

Take the time to wash your spinach well, as dirt can hide in the crinkles of the leaves. Remember that cooking spinach will lose three quarters of its volume, so if want to make it go far; consider enjoying it raw or slightly wilted in a salad. Raw spinach is also delicious in sandwiches or with pita and hummus. If you feel you have enough spinach to cook it, then there is any number of great recipes. Spanakopita, oysters Rockefeller, creamed spinach, lasagna…or just tossed into an omelette, quiche, pasta, or on top of a pizza. Careful not to overcook your spinach, though; once it takes on a brighter green color it will be tender.

Storage Tips

Spinach will keep for about a week in a plastic bag in your refrigerator. To make it last longer, try blanching it for just a minute in boiling water and freezing it in a plastic bag.

Nutrition

Popeye was right about spinach; it is high in vitamins A, C, E and K, magnesium, folic acid, iron, calcium, and antioxidants. Spinach's only downside is that its oxalic acid makes it more difficult for your body to absorb the calcium it contains.

History

Spinach is related to beets and Swiss chard. It is native to Persia, in modern day Iran, where it was gathered wild. It has been cultivated for thousands of years in the Middle East, and grown since the seventh century in India and China, although it didn't reach Europe until the 13th century and took quite a while to gain popularity there.

Field Notes

Our ongoing attempt to grow spinach more effectively continues. We experiment with several varieties each year, and try both direct seeding and transplanting it at different spacing in search of the magic ratio. For the 2009 season we will be planting some beds of spinach in the new five acres of land associated with the farms expansion. With different soil composition and drainage we are excited to see what the new acreage will offer.