Ingredient encyclopedia · Vegetables
A tender green that cooks down to a tenth of its volume — a mountain of leaves becomes a modest, mineral-rich side in ninety seconds. Baby leaves for salads; mature bunches for cooking.
Mineral, sweet, faintly metallic (that's the oxalates). Cooked, it deepens and turns silky.
Handle with care
Prep & knife work
·
Wash bunched spinach in a bowl of water — grit sinks.
·
Stem mature leaves; baby spinach needs nothing.
·
Squeeze cooked spinach hard — watery spinach ruins fillings.
At the stove
Cooking methods
Wilting into pasta or soup at the end
Flavor friends
Pairs well with
Kale (needs longer cooking)
Frozen spinach (for fillings — squeeze it dry)
Keep it fresh
Storage & shopping
Storage
Dry, in a bag with a paper towel, in the crisper. Moisture is what turns it to slime.
Shelf life
Baby leaves: 3–5 days. Bunches: up to a week.
Seasonality
Spring and autumn; summer heat makes it bolt and turn bitter.
Shopping tips
Perky, dark, dry leaves. Avoid any bag with moisture beading inside.
Nutrition
Iron, folate, vitamin K. Pair with vitamin C (lemon!) to absorb more of the iron.
From Persia via Arab agronomists to Europe; Catherine de' Medici loved it so much that "Florentine" still means "with spinach."
Put it to work
Recipes with spinach
30-Minute Spicy Chicken & Spinach Stir-fry
Asian · Dinner
Spanish Spinach & Chickpeas
Spanish · Lunch
Chickpea Curry
Indian · Dinner
Steakhouse Creamed Spinach
American · Side