spinach

The English word "spinach" dates to the late 14th century from the Old French word espinache.{{cite web |title=Spinach |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/spinach#etymonline_v_24022 |publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper |access-date=27 April 2025 |date=2019}} The name entered European languages from medieval Latin spinagium, which borrowed it from Andalusian Arabic, isbinakh. That in turn derives from Persian aspānāḵ.{{cite book|author=Julia Cresswell|title=Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J4i3zV4vnBAC|date=9 September 2010|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-954793-7|page=415}}

Common spinach (S. oleracea) was long considered to be in the family Chenopodiaceae, but in 2003 that family was merged into the Amaranthaceae in the order Caryophyllales.{{Cite web|title=Caryophyllales|url=http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/apweb/orders/caryophyllalesweb.htm#Amaranthaceae|access-date=2020-12-02|website=www.mobot.org}}{{cite book|author=Pam Dawling|title=Sustainable Market Farming: Intensive Vegetable Production on a Few Acres|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JlIwbBcglxEC&pg=PA244|date=1 February 2013|publisher=New Society Publishers|isbn=978-1-55092-512-8|pages=244–}} Within the family Amaranthaceae sensu lato, Spinach belongs to the subfamily Chenopodioideae.{{Citation|last1=Rubatzky|first1=Vincent E.|title=Spinach, Table Beets, and Other Vegetable Chenopods|date=1997|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6015-9_21|work=World Vegetables: Principles, Production, and Nutritive Values|pages=457–473|editor-last=Rubatzky|editor-first=Vincent E.|place=Boston, MA|publisher=Springer US|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-1-4615-6015-9_21|isbn=978-1-4615-6015-9|access-date=2021-06-11|last2=Yamaguchi|first2=Mas|editor2-last=Yamaguchi|editor2-first=Mas|url-access=subscription}}

As opposed to most flowering plants used as vegetables, spinach is a dioecious plant, meaning different plants can have either female or male flowers.{{efn|Asparagus and sorrel are the other notable exceptions.}}{{Cite book |title=Petite et grande histoire des légumes |last=Birlouez |first=Éric |publisher=Quæ |year=2020 |edition=1 |location=Versailles/impr. en Suisse |language=French |url=https://www.quae.com/produit/1648/9782759231973/petite-et-grande-histoire-des-legumes |series=Carnets de sciences |volume= |publication-place=Versailles/impr. en Suisse |page=52-54 |trans-title=A small and great history of vegetables |chapter=Une fabuleuse diversité, «L'épinard, légume de carème» |trans-chapter=A fabulous diversity, «Spinach, the lent vegetable» |isbn=978-2-7592-3196-6}} Quæ

The flowers are small, green and wind pollinated.

Spinacia oleracea male flowers, spinazie mannelijke bloemen.jpg|Spinach male flowers

Spinacia oleracea female flowers, spinazie vrouwelijke bloemen.jpg|Spinach female flowers

Spinach seeds round.jpg|Round seeds of the 'Monnopa' cultivar

Spinach seeds spiky.jpg|Spiky seeds of the 'Erste Ernte' cultivar

Spinach is thought to have originated about 2,000 years ago in ancient Persia from which it was introduced to India and later to ancient China via Nepal in 647 CE as the "Persian vegetable".{{cite web|date=2019|title=Spinach history - origins of different types of spinach|url=http://www.vegetablefacts.net/vegetable-history/spinach-history/|access-date=2 November 2019|publisher=Vegetable Facts}} In 827 CE, the Arabs introduced spinach to Sicily.{{cite book|last1=Rolland|first1=Jacques L.|title=The Food Encyclopedia|last2=Sherman|first2=Carol|date=2006|publisher=Robert Rose|isbn=9780778801504|location=Toronto|pages=335–338}} The first written evidence of spinach in the Mediterranean was recorded in three 10th-century works: a medical work by al-Rāzī (known as Rhazes in the West) and in two agricultural treatises, one by Ibn Waḥshīyah and the other by Qusṭus al-Rūmī. Spinach became a popular vegetable in the Arab Mediterranean and arrived in the Iberian Peninsula by the latter part of the 12th century, where Ibn al-ʻAwwām called it {{transliteration|ar|ALA|raʼīs al-buqūl}}, 'the chieftain of leafy greens'.{{cite book|last1=Ibn al-ʻAwwām|first1=Yaḥyá ibn Muḥammad|title=Kitāb al-Filāḥah|year=1802|chapter=23.8|author-link1=Ibn al-Awwam|access-date=July 30, 2014|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=daZEAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA160}} Spinach was also the subject of a special treatise in the 11th century by Ibn Ḥajjāj.Clifford A. Wright. Mediterranean Vegetables: A Cook's ABC of Vegetables and their Preparation in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, and North Africa, with More than 200 Authentic Recipes for the Home Cook. (Boston: Harvard Common Press, 2001). pp. 300-301.{{better source needed|date=February 2022}}

Spinach first appeared in England and France in the 14th century, probably via Iberia, and gained common use because it appeared in early spring when fresh local vegetables were not available. Spinach is mentioned in the first known English cookbook, the Forme of Cury (1390), where it is referred to as 'spinnedge' and 'spynoches'.{{cite book|last1=Rolland|first1=Jacques|url=http://www.canadianliving.com/glossary/spinach.php|series=Spinach|last2=Sherman|first2=Carol|title=The Food Encyclopedia: Over 8,000 Ingredients, Tools, Techniques and People|publisher=Robert Rose|year=2006|location=Toronto|access-date=March 7, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724195456/http://www.canadianliving.com/glossary/spinach.php|archive-date=July 24, 2011|isbn=9780778801504}} During World War I, wine fortified with spinach juice was given to injured French soldiers with the intent to curtail their bleeding.{{cite book|author1=Margaret Grieve|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KgfHxvGFHAoC&pg=PA761|title=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|author2=Maud Grieve|date=1 June 1971|publisher=Courier Dover Publications|isbn=978-0-486-22799-3|pages=761–|access-date=13 August 2010}}

{{nutritional value | name=Spinach, raw

| water=91.4 g

| kJ=97

| protein=2.9 g

| fat=0.4 g

| carbs=3.6 g

| fiber=2.2 g

| sugars=0.4 g

| calcium_mg=99

| iron_mg=2.71

| magnesium_mg=79

| phosphorus_mg=49

| potassium_mg=558

| sodium_mg=79

| zinc_mg=0.53

| manganese_mg=0.897

| vitC_mg=28

| thiamin_mg=0.078

| riboflavin_mg=0.189

| niacin_mg=0.724

| vitB6_mg=0.195

| folate_ug=194

| vitA_ug=469

| vitA_iu=9377

| betacarotene_ug=5626

| lutein_ug=12198

| vitE_mg=2

| vitK_ug=483

| source_usda = 1

| note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168462/nutrients Link to USDA database entry]

}}

Raw spinach is 91% water, 4% carbohydrates, 3% protein, and contains negligible fat (table). In a {{convert|100|g|oz|frac=2|abbr=off|adj=on}} reference serving providing {{convert|97|kJ|kcal|abbr=off}} of food energy, spinach has a high nutritional value, especially when fresh, frozen, steamed, or quickly boiled. It is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, and folate (31-52% DV), with an especially high content of vitamin K (403% DV) (table). Spinach is a moderate source (10–19% of DV) of the B vitamins, riboflavin and vitamin B₆, vitamin E, potassium, iron, magnesium, and dietary fiber (table).

Although spinach contains moderate amounts of iron and calcium, it also contains oxalates, which may inhibit absorption of calcium and iron in the stomach and small intestine. Cooked spinach has lower levels of oxalates, and its nutrients may be absorbed more completely.{{cite web |title=Osteoporosis Diet & Nutrition: Foods for Bone Health |website=National Osteoporosis Foundation |date=2015-12-21 |url=https://www.nof.org/patients/treatment/nutrition/ |access-date=2019-11-18}}{{cite journal |journal=Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition |year=1999 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=64–74 |title=Oxalate content of foods and its effect on humans |last1=Noonan |first1=S.C. |last2=Savage |first2=G.P. |pmid=24393738 |url=http://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/APJCN/8/1/64.pdf |doi=10.1046/j.1440-6047.1999.00038.x}}

Cooking spinach significantly decreases its vitamin C concentration, as vitamin C is degraded by heating. Folate levels may also be decreased, as folate tends to leach into cooking liquid.{{Cite journal |last1=Delchier |first1=N. |last2=Reich |first2=M. |last3=Renard |first3=C.M.G.C. |title=Impact of cooking methods on folates, ascorbic acid and lutein in green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and spinach (Spinacea oleracea) |journal=Food Science and Technology |date=December 2012 |issue=2 |volume=49 |pages=197–201| doi=10.1016/j.lwt.2012.06.017 |doi-access=free }}

Spinach is rich in nitrates and nitrites, which may exceed safe levels if spinach is over-consumed. {{Cite journal |title=Monitoring of nitrites and nitrates levels in leafy vegetables (spinach and lettuce): a contribution to risk assessment |journal=J Sci Food Agric |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jsfa.6439 |last1=Iammarino |first1=M |issue=4 |volume=94 |pages=773–778 |last2=Di Taranto |first2=A. |publisher=Wiley |doi=10.1002/jsfa.6439 |year=2014 |pmid=24122771 |last3=Cristino |first3=M. |bibcode=2014JSFA...94..773I |url-access=subscription }}

Spinach is eaten raw, in salads, and cooked in soups, curries, or casseroles. Dishes with spinach as a main ingredient include spinach salad, spinach soup, spinach dip, saag paneer, pkhali, ispanakhi matsvnit, and spanakopita.

In classical French cuisine, a spinach-based dish may be described as à la Florentine.{{cite news |last=Franey |first=Pierre |title=60-minute Gourmet: Chicken breasts enhanced with a spinach stuffing |newspaper=New York Times |date=October 5, 1983 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/05/garden/60-minute-gourmet-209336.html |accessdate=September 6, 2021 }}

File:Home cooked Chicken Florentine in 2021.jpg|Chicken Florentine, meaning with spinach

File:Spanakopita.jpg|Spanakopita, a Greek spinach pastry

File:Mutton saag.jpg|Saag gosht, an Indian dish

In 2022, world production of spinach was 33 million tonnes, with China alone accounting for 93% of the total.

Fresh spinach is sold loose, bunched, or packaged fresh in bags. Fresh spinach loses much of its nutritional value with storage of more than a few days.{{cite web | url = https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050323124809.htm | title=Storage time and temperature effects nutrients in spinach|date=23 March 2005|publisher=ScienceDaily|author=Pennsylvania State University | access-date = 5 July 2008}} Fresh spinach is packaged in air, or in nitrogen gas to extend shelf life. While refrigeration slows this effect to about eight days, fresh spinach loses most of its folate and carotenoid content over this period of time. For longer storage, it is canned, or blanched or cooked and frozen.

Some packaged spinach is exposed to radiation to kill any harmful bacteria. The Food and Drug Administration approves of irradiation of spinach leaves up to an absorbed dose of 4.0 kilograys, having no or only a minor effect on nutrient content.{{cite web|author=Bliss|first=Rosalie Marion|date=27 May 2010|title=Nutrient retention of safer salads explored|url=https://www.ars.usda.gov/news-events/news/research-news/2010/nutrient-retention-of-safer-salads-explored/|publisher=US Department of Agriculture}}

Spinach may be high in cadmium contamination depending on the soil and location where the spinach is grown.{{Cite web |url=https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxguides/toxguide-5.pdf |title=ToxGuide for cadmium |publisher=Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, US Department of Health and Human Services |location=Atlanta, GA |date=October 2012}}

Due to spinach's high content of vitamin K, individuals taking the anticoagulant warfarin, which acts by inhibiting vitamin K, are instructed to minimize consumption of spinach (and other dark green leafy vegetables).{{cite web |author=Sheps SG|title=Warfarin diet: What foods should I avoid? |url=https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/thrombophlebitis/expert-answers/warfarin/faq-20058443 |publisher=Mayo Clinic |access-date=6 March 2019 |date=19 April 2018}}

File:ItsBroccoliCarlRose.jpg" meaning "nonsense" comes from a 1928 cartoon in The New Yorker.{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=spinach&searchmode=term |title=spinach (n.) |author=Douglas Harper |work=Online Etymology Dictionary |accessdate=February 2, 2014}}{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,815645,00.html |title=The Press: I Say It's Spinach |date=October 22, 1951 |magazine=Time |access-date=February 1, 2014 |url-access=subscription |quote=Many a New Yorkerism (e.g., Cartoonist Carl Rose's 'I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it') has become a part of the language.}}|alt=A cartoon depicting a mother telling her daughter "It's broccoli, dear" over a dish at a dining table. The child answers: "I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it.". It is signed by Carl Rose.]]

The comics and cartoon character Popeye the Sailor Man is portrayed as gaining strength by consuming canned spinach.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/dec/08/ec-segar-popeye-google-doodle |title=E.C. Segar, Popeye's creator, celebrated with a Google doodle |last=Gabbat |first=Adam |date=8 December 2009 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=5 May 2010}} The accompanying song lyric is: "I'm strong to the finich {{Sic}}, 'cuz I eats me spinach."{{cite book |last1=Holloway |first1=Diane |title=American History in Song: Lyrics from 1900 to 1945 |date=2001 |publisher=Authors Choice Press |isbn=978-0-595-19331-8 |page=294 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zj5QxjMh9aAC |access-date=18 November 2022 |language=en}} This is usually attributed to the iron content of spinach, but in a 1932 strip, Popeye states that "spinach is full of vitamin A" and that is what makes people strong and healthy.Joe Schwarcz, Monkeys, Myths, and Molecules: Separating Fact from Fiction in the Science of Everyday Life, 2015, {{isbn|1770411917}}, p. 245; spinach actually contains beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A As it happens, spinach is not a better source of dietary iron than many other vegetables. The false idea that spinach is an especially good source of dietary iron is an academic urban legend.{{cite journal |last=Rekdal |first=Ole Bjorn |title=Academic urban legends |journal=Social Studies of Science |date=June 12, 2014 |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=638–654 |doi=10.1177/0306312714535679|pmid=25272616 |pmc=4232290 }}

• Green leafy vegetable
• Ipomoea aquatica
• Kale
• Mountain spinach
• Palmer amaranth
• Spinach in the United States
• Tetragonia tetragonioides
• White goosefoot

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Category:Endemic flora of Iran

Category:Amaranthaceae

Category:Leaf vegetables

Category:Plants described in 1753