This Week's Food Focus is Spinach

The spinach plant (Spinacia oleracea) is part of the Amaranthaceae family of flowering plants and originates from Persia. Quinoa and Aramanth are part of the same family. Raw spinach contains a high level of oxalic acid which affects the absorption of essential nutrients such as calcium and iron. The process of heating spinach breaks down this acid making the nutrients more bioavailable. On the other hand, folate, vitamin C, niacin, riboflavin, and potassium are all more easily absorbed by our bodies when spinach is eaten raw. It is therefore recommended to eat both raw and cooked spinach to benefit from the vitamins and minerals available in each of the forms. Source: https://www.vegetariantimes.com/health-and-nutrition/nutrition-face-off-raw-vs-cooked-spinach

There are three main types of spinach widely available:

Savoy: it has thick dark green, crinkly and curly leaves Semi Savoy: is a hybrid variety whose leaves are less crinkly than the Savoy spinach. Flat/Smooth Leaf spinach has flat and lighter green coloured leaves that are easy to clean.

Here are some fun facts about spinach:

~ National Spinach Day is the 26th of March.

~ In the 1930's, a 33% increase in sales of spinach in the USA during the Great Depression years was attributed to the cartoon character Popeye the Sailor Man.

~ In culinary terms, 'florentine' refers to a dish where the main ingredient is spinach. The origin of the term comes from the 16th century Queen of France, Catherine de Medici, whose favourite vegetable was spinach, Florence being her home town. Source:  Spinach, The George Mateljan Foundation

~ During World War I, French soldiers who had been weakened by haemorrhages were given wine infused with spinach juice.

Source: Margaret Grieve; Maud Grieve (1 June 1971). A modern herbal: the medicinal, culinary, cosmetic and economic properties, cultivation and folk-lore of herbs, grasses, fungi, shrubs, & trees with all their modern scientific uses.

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