Some spinach tastes delicious while others taste astringent. Why is that?

When it comes to the animation "Popeye", the most profound memory in many people's hearts is that the protagonist became famous all over the world for "eating spinach". With the broadcast of "Popeye", the use of spinach has increased significantly. Although eating spinach will not make you extremely strong, the nutritional value of spinach is indeed very high. Spinach contains more protein, multiple vitamins, dietary fiber and multiple minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, etc., especially carotene and iron. In the early spring season, eating more spinach has many benefits.

I wonder if you have noticed this problem? Sometimes the spinach you buy from the market tastes good, but sometimes the spinach you buy tastes astringent and unpalatable even after blanching. Why is this?

Tuchong Creative

01

Round leaves? Pointed leaves?

Spinach is a vegetable cultivated by Persians more than 2,000 years ago. It is also called "Persian grass". It was introduced to my country from Nepal and other places during the Tang Dynasty. It has a history of more than 1,000 years of rooting and sprouting in China. Su Shi once wrote a poem about spinach: The bitter cold in the north has not yet ended, and the waves under the snow are like iron armor. Who knows that my Shu is rich in winter vegetables, and the frost leaves and dew buds grow even more in the cold. The "waves" here refer to spinach. From the poem, we can see that spinach was widely planted in Shu at that time, and it could be produced in the open field over the winter.

From ancient times to the present, spinach cultivation has formed two types: pointed leaves and round leaves ; it has achieved year-round production, and the planting crops include spring and autumn crops, summer crops, and winter crops; there are both open-field production and greenhouse and other protected areas. The key reason why the spinach we buy is sometimes delicious and sometimes not delicious is that we did not pick the right spinach and crop. Generally, the pointed leaf spinach eaten in spring tastes fresh, tender, and slightly sweet, with less astringency; while if the round leaf spinach is not cooked thoroughly, it will taste more astringent. In addition, the leaves of round leaf spinach are thick and taste a little rougher than those of pointed leaves.

So what are the differences between these two types of spinach, other than the taste? And how should they be cooked?

Image source: Guo Yangdong, China Agricultural University, copyright image, no permission to reprint

02

Different appearance

The leaves of pointed-leaf spinach are pointed at the tip. The leaves of this type of spinach are narrow and thin, halberd-shaped or arrow-shaped, with a smooth leaf surface and slender petioles. The leaves and rhizomes are relatively tender, light green in color, and look good.

Image source: Guo Yangdong, China Agricultural University, copyright image, no permission to reprint

As the name suggests, the leaves of round-leaf spinach are nearly round, oval, elliptical or irregular, with blunt or slightly pointed tips, truncated, halberd-shaped or arrow-shaped bases, large leaves, many wrinkles, short petioles, and green throughout. Comparing the two types of spinach, the leaves of round-leaf spinach are thicker.

Image source: Guo Yangdong, China Agricultural University, copyright image, no permission to reprint

It is easy to distinguish between pointed leaf spinach and round leaf spinach from their appearance.

03

Different breeding goals

The spinach that was first introduced to China retained more of the cold-resistant, easy-to-bolt pointed-leaf type because of the need for early spring vegetable supply. This type of spinach is generally chosen for cultivation in late autumn and overwintering.

Many round-leaf spinach varieties were introduced to my country from Europe in modern times. In order to adapt to diverse market demands, the goal of breeding is to achieve heat resistance, fast growth, and resistance to bolting, so as to meet the variety needs for spring and autumn crops and oversummer cultivation in my country.

Because breeding goals vary, breeders will crossbreed different types of spinach varieties. Over time, the correlation between leaf shape and variety characteristics and quality characteristics is no longer very obvious.

04

Different cooking methods

Pointed-leaf spinach that is cultivated over the winter (available in the early spring) accumulates relatively high sugar and water content , and tastes sweet and not astringent. In addition, its leaves are thin and tender, so this type of spinach is generally not resistant to long-term high-temperature cooking, and is more suitable for eating cold or stir-frying over high heat . Round-leaf spinach has thick and large leaves and relatively short petioles. It does not taste sweet, but has a high dietary fiber content and is more resistant to cooking, making it more suitable for making soups, dumplings, and buns. Of course, you can eat it cold or stir-fried , but be sure to cook it thoroughly before eating. Especially for cold dishes, be sure to blanch it in water in advance to remove the astringency and preserve its nutrients.

Whether it is round-leaf spinach or pointed-leaf spinach, when buying, we should choose fresh ones that are not wet, have young stems and leaves, have no bolting or flowering, and have no yellow or rotten leaves . You can tell the freshness of the leaves by touching them. Fresh spinach feels thick and elastic; while those that feel soft and wilted have lost moisture. Fresh spinach contains more nutrients and chlorophyll, which is more beneficial to the body.

Author | Lao Ke opens his mind

Review | Zhao Qiuju, President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Journals

This article is produced by the Science Popularization China-Creation Cultivation Program. Please indicate the source when reprinting

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