Spinach

Spinach is native to Iran and adjacent areas, but did not spread to other parts of the world until the beginning of the Christian Era. The first record, written in Chinese, states that spinach was introduced into China from Nepal in A.D. 647. It reached Spain about A.D. 1100, brought by the Moors from North Africa, where it had been introduced by way of ancient Syria and Arabia. The prickly­seeded form of the vegetable was known in Germany in the thirteenth century and was commonly grown in European monastery gardens by the fourteenth century. A 1390 cookbook for the court of Richard II had recipes for "spynoches." The smooth-seeded form was described in 1552. Spinach was probably brought to the United States early in colonial days, but commercial cultivation did not start until about 1806 and the first curly-leaved variety was introduced in 1828.

Spinach (Spinacia Oleracea) is a small, fleshy-leaved annual of the goosefoot family. It is a quick-maturing, cool season crop that is hardy and will live outdoors over winter throughout most of the area from New Jersey southward along the Atlantic Coast and in most parts of the lower South. There are two other plants called spinach, but they are not genuine: New Zealand spinach and Mountain spinach, or garden orach. The former, sometimes called ice plant, is a small annual of the carpetwee family. It is chiefly an Australasian and Japanese herb used as a substitute for spinach. Mountain spinach also belongs to the goosefoot family. In the western United States it is part of the vegetation referred to as greasewood and is sometimes call saltbush.

Spinach has been both praised and abused. It has been popularized in the comic strips by the herculean feats of Popeye the sailor. On the other hand, Dr.Thurman B. Rice of the Indiana State Board of Health says. "If God had intended for us to eat spinach he would have flavored it with something" But flavoring is a job for cooks. The way spinach is thrown in a pot with a large quantity of water and boiled for a half hour or more, it's a wonder even Popeye relished it. Spinach should be cooked in a steamer with very little or no added water other than that clinging to the leaves after washing. If you insist on boiling it, again use only the water clinging to the leaves after washing, and cook in a covered pan for not more than ten minutes.

Benefits of Spinach

Spinach is an excellent source of vitamins C and A, and iron, and contains about 40 percent potassium. It leaves an alkaline ash in the body. Spinach is good for the lymphatic, urinary, and digestive systems.

Spinach has a laxative effect and is wonderful in weight-loss diets. It has a high calcium content, but also contains oxalic acid. This acid combines with calcium to form a compound that the body cannot absorb. For this reason, the calcium in spinach is considered unavailable as a nutrient. This is of small importance, however, in the ordinary diet. The oxalic acid factor would become important only if a person relied largely on spinach for calcium. The only effect the acid would have is if a large quantity of spinach juice were taken. This might cause disturbing results in the joints.

Nutrients in one pound