About Spinach

A leafy green vegetable or salad green with a flavor that is slightly bitter tasting. There are basically two different varieties of spinach grown for consumption: the small, smooth, flat-textured leaf spinach and the crinkle-textured broad leaf spinach. The flavor is the same for each variety, but the density or size of the leaves, the shape and texture of the leaves and the stalks all differ. Spinach is rich in potassium, iron, riboflavin, vitamin A, and vitamin C. When eaten raw, the nutrients are retained, however when cooked, spinach releases some of the nutrients into the liquid produced. By boiling the spinach greens, the nutrients are released into the water. However, when sautéed or steamed, the juices can be used in the cooked spinach so the nutrients can be retained. Spinach is served raw as a green for salads, cooked as a vegetable dish, or combined with other ingredients for a side dish. It is also dried, chopped into bits, and mixed with other ingredients to be used as a food seasoning. There are four types of spinach often available which include the common spinach, New Zealand spinach, Chinese or Asian Spinach, and Water Spinach. Common spinach has flat thin leaves, thin stalks and a medium green color. When eaten raw or cooked, the stalks are typically removed and the leaves are prepared for consumption. New Zealand spinach is a coarser, thicker leaf with a crinkled-texture. The leaf has an arrowhead shape with a fine fuzz covering the leaf, while the stalk is thicker than common spinach. The New Zealand spinach is best served as a cooked vegetable or ingredient to a food dish, providing a mellow grassy flavor. Chinese spinach is also referred to as Asian, Bayam, Ceylon, Malabar, Tampala, or Vietnamese spinach, as well as alogvati, mong toi, saan choy, or yin tsoi. This type of spinach provides a crinkle-textured, thicker leaf grown on a denser stalk than common spinach. It is a variety that is commonly grown in Asia and India for both the stalks and the leaf.

Source: http://www.recipetips.com/glossary-term/t--34295/spinach.asp

Recipes

1. Spinach with Lentils recipes from Sri Lanka and India and other exotic places
2. Malfatti (from Sylvia Sebastiani) with spinach
3. Feta Cheese Spinach Pie -
4. Wheat Berry, Roasted Corn and Spinach Salad
5. Spinach Raita with Toasted Cumin from 5 Spices, 50 Dishes by Ruta Kahate
6. Spinach Feta Personal Healthy Pizza from Spark People
7. Vegetables with Tofu and Spinach from Food of the World: Thailand
8. Spinach-stuffed Cumin Crespelle from Joy of Pasta by Joe Famularo
9. Curried Chickpeas with Spinach and Zucchini from Feast from the Mideast: 250 Sun-Drenched Dishes from the Lands of the Bible by Faye Levy
10. Spinach-Stuffed Fetayer, a stuffed Jordanian pastry from The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber
11. Spiced Coconut Spinach from Heidi Swanson
12. Spinach Salad with White Beans
13. Spanakopita (Spinach Pie) from A Greek Feast by Lou Seibert Pappas
14. Spinaci a la Romana (Spinach with Raisins and Pine Nuts) from The Encyclopedia of Italian Cooking, ed. Jeni Wright
15. Mussels with Spinach (Moules aux Epinards) from Languedoc
16. Sake-Steamed Mussels with Ginger, Miso and Spinach
17. Tagliatelle with Mushrooms and Garlic Cheese with ricotta and spinach; from The Mushroom Book by Victoria Lloyd-Davies

Growing Spinach

• University of Illinois Extension http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/spinach1.html
• University of Rhode Island http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/prints/spinach.html