We all know spinach is good for you, but could it taste good too
Want to know how to keep your spinach from becoming a soggy, tasteless mess? Keep watching to learn how to take your spinach from slimy to savory
Baby spinach is great. Eat it raw anytime you want. Just don't add it to your skillet
Put it in the oven or use it in any other recipe that requires heat
For that, you want mature spinach, which are those dark green leafy bunches you see at
the store or farmer's market. You might have to look a little bit harder to find it, as most spinach at the store is the baby stuff
But trust us when we say it will be worth it. That's because the very qualities baby spinach is prized for when eaten raw
tender leaves with a delicate flavor, cause it to break down too quickly when it's cooked
thus leaving you with a slimy mess. Mature spinach, on the other hand, has a more robust flavor and texture that stands up to cooking
without losing too much structure or becoming soggy. Mature spinach performs much better in heat-requiring recipes
like sautéed spinach, soups, pasta sauces, and more. If you can't find raw mature spinach, we recommend you look for frozen spinach
It has the same flavor and texture, and it's just as nutrient-rich as the fresh stuff
Martha Stewart gets behind this hack too, and notes frozen spinach is picked and frozen at its peak
so it's always fresh and ready to go. Frozen vegetables are typically flash-frozen, a process invented in the 1920s by the founder of Bird's Eye
It freezes vegetables so fast their cell walls can't be damaged. This preserves their texture, flavor, color, and nutrients so well that their quality can be better than fresh
Another benefit to frozen spinach is that it comes pre-blanched. Blanching vegetables by cooking them very quickly in boiling water preserves nutrients, texture, and flavor
And it helps you get that perfectly cooked spinach recipe every time. Even if you're using fresh spinach, we recommend taking the extra step
It's quick and a trick we swear by for the ultimate creamed spinach
You can also do your own blanching to make it easier to freeze vegetables
This is especially useful if you find mature spinach and want to stock up while you can
If you've ever grabbed spinach from your fridge and have been met with a slimy, wilted mess
you know how quickly it can go bad Like many leafy greens its high water content and delicate structure leave it particularly prone to spoiling The best way to help it stay fresh longer than a day is to make
sure it stays thoroughly dry. We recommend picking out any leaves that have already yellowed or gone
bad and rinsing the remaining spinach. Afterward, pat it dry with a paper towel. Once every single
spinach leaf is dry, it's best to store it in an airtight container or salad spinner lined with more
paper towels to soak up any moisture you missed. Kept in the refrigerator this way, spinach should stay good for up to a week
If you buy pre-packaged spinach, it's probably already been washed, but if you're getting
it fresh, you'll want to rinse it before cooking. Rinsing veggies helps wash away bacteria that could make you sick, along with residue left
over from farming or processing. Just wait to rinse your spinach until right before it's ready to cook
Otherwise, your greens will go bad faster if you continue storing them in the fridge
While you might see products made specifically for washing produce, water works just as well
Research conducted at the University of Maine indicates that soaking produce for a minute
or two in distilled water works just as well as soaking it in the produce wash
Speaking of soaking, though, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention actually recommends
rinsing under running water, which is great since that's even easier than a soak
Make sure your spinach is completely dried off before you cook it to keep it from getting soupy
Chances are, you've probably noticed the mysterious vanishing act spinach pulls every time you
add it to a pan. The science behind this illusion is a rapid and drastic loss of water
According to data published in Nutrition Review, spinach is more than 90 percent water, so
it's no surprise it shrinks so much when you cook it as that water evaporates away
Keep that in mind when you're cooking with spinach and add a heck of a lot more to the
pan than what you hope to end up with in the end. We recommend using 10 to 12 cups of fresh
torn spinach leaves for every one cup of cooked spinach you want to have at the end
If you're using frozen spinach, one 10-ounce package should cook down to about a cup and a half
It's interesting to note that since some vitamins are water-soluble, the water-lost spinach experiences when it's cooked means it loses a little bit of its vitamin C
On the flip side cooking spinach makes its iron and calcium easier to absorb So you win some you lose some If you remember only one thing about cooking spinach it should be this Don overcook it
Overcook it's no good. If you're making spinach by itself, the key is to cook it high and fast, as opposed to
low and slow. If you're sautéing it, turn up the heat and cook the spinach in a little bit of hot oil
for only about three minutes, until it's barely wilted. the lid off and stir frequently so the water the spinach releases as it cooks can evaporate
Otherwise, you run the risk of letting the spinach stew in too much liquid. This can be good in its
own right, but dilutes the bright, fresh taste you're often looking for with sauteed spinach
You can also cook your spinach quickly by blanching it before mixing it into recipes
like creamed spinach or quiche. Just boil some water, add the spinach leaves, and let them cook
for about 30 to 40 seconds. Then transfer the spinach to a bowl of ice water to halt the
cooking process. You can also blanch spinach before you freeze it to help it hold up to the
cold. This is a great way to prevent having to throw away any fresh spinach you don't think
you'll use before it goes bad. The internet is a treasure trove of food hacks, and one of our
favorites is the perfect solution to overcooked spinach. Let's call it the colander trick. The
best way to avoid exposing your spinach to too much heat is to avoid letting it touch the stove
at all. Instead of submerging your spinach in boiling water on the stove or exposing it to
the direct heat of a hot pan, put it all into a colander, and slowly, carefully pour boiling
water over the top. Since the water drains through the colander, the spinach is only
exposed to heat for a short amount of time. It wilts quickly instead of overcooking or
becoming waterlogged. The spinach you get is bright and perfectly tender every time
If you don't already have a colander, this is just one of many reasons to invest in one
They're good to have on hand for everything, from washing veggies to steaming them
By now, you know that all it takes to cook spinach is basically a little steam
so you can imagine what might happen if you cool it in a big pile. It keeps cooking
The steam from the spinach on the bottom will travel up through the spinach above and continue cooking it
This will ruin the perfectly tender leaves you tried so carefully to time during your sautéing, steaming, or blanching
That why we recommend spreading cooked spinach out on a baking pan or plate to let it cool in a single layer This will help prevent it from overcooking You can also use a silicone baking sheet or use a sheet of parchment paper
Putting down parchment paper first, even on top of your baking pans, will allow you to
easily slide the spinach off onto your plate when it's ready to go
One of the major complaints about spinach is this. Oh, God, it's all watery
Nobody wants extra water with their spinach. Even if you do everything you can to minimize the wateriness of your spinach while it cooks
there's still going to be some water left. If you're planning to incorporate it into another recipe like casagna, spanakopita, or quiche
you'll want to give it a squeeze. Now, there are several ways to remove water from your spinach, and several ways not to
Let's start with the latter. Don't use a dish towel unless you want it tie-dyed green and white
And skip the paper towel to avoid spending several aggravating minutes picking tiny pieces out when you're done. The easiest way to do it correctly is to throw it
in a colander and gently depress it with your hand until most of the water has drained away
If you happen to have a sushi mat or potato ricer, it's even easier and you don't need to
touch the spinach much at all. Place your sushi mat on a rimmed baking sheet to catch the water
as it drains, lay the spinach across it, and roll it up. You can also put the spinach in your potato
ricer and squeeze it over a bowl. If you turn up your nose at spinach, it could be because the
spinach you've eaten has lacked sufficient flavor. Spinach can be a little bland on its own
but it's the perfect canvas for adding flavor. So don't be too stingy with the salt and pepper
Garlic goes very well with spinach too. We recommend you try sauteing spinach with a few
whole garlic cloves to give it a subtle kick of flavor throughout. And we love Rachel Ray's
recipe for wilting spinach and garlic in oil. The possibilities don't stop at sauteed spinach
either. While that's definitely a common and easy way to make it, spinach is also the star
ingredient in many recipes, some that seem a bit more complex, from creamed spinach with caramelized
onions and garlic in a thick butter-based roux, or there are a plethora of pasta dishes that include
a heaping helping of spinach. Give them a try, and you might be surprised by how easy they actually
are to make, especially compared to how fancy they taste