GARDENING: Popeye's fast fix.
Byline: JOHN HUMPHRIESEVERYONE knows that Popeye the cartoon character attributed his great strength to eating vast quantities of spinach even though he spent just as much time sucking on his clay pipe.
Spinach is undoubtedly good for you but where it came from remains something of a mystery.
Some say Persia, others that it originated in the Far East before travelling first to Greece then Rome until the Arabs eventually took it to Spain in the 14th century from whence it spread throughout Europe.
Wherever it has travelled, spinach has been welcomed by every cuisine along the way, in salads and in soups, pastries and pies, souffles, omelettes and creams, proving its versatility in all but the sweet course.
Once part of the peasant diet, spinach today graces the menus of the most expensive restaurants who regard it as a gourmet vegetable, dishing out portions as though worth their weight in gold.
Although the green leafy vegetable cannot be guaranteed to give you the strength of ten men, as was the case with Popeye, it is exceptionally nutritious, stuffed with minerals and antioxidants including significant levels of iron and calcium.
Popeye's legendary strength probably came from the chlorophyll responsible for spinach's green colour and a substance that gives body cells a tremendous oxygen boost.
True spinach can, however, be tricky to grow. Summer varieties do not like hot, dry weather, while winter ones hate to be cold and wet.
Whether it is grown for summer or winter consumption, freshly picked it beats the wilted leaves from the greengrocer, although that seems to have changed with the advent of supermarkets, which contrive to keep the leaves looking remarkably fresh although they may have travelled hundreds of miles.
Of the other leafy vegetables used as spinach substitutes, spinach beet or perpetual spinach is coarser in texture but abundant in all but the coldest weather and reliable in conditions that might cause true spinach to fail.
But my favourite leafy substitute is Swiss chard, otherwise known as Seakale beet, and a variety most certainly cultivated in classical times. Swiss chard has firmer stems than spinach beet and are much sweeter, particularly those of the red chard.
New Zealand spinach and the British native Good King Henry, which still grows wild in parts of the country, are other varieties that can be cooked in the same way as true spinach.
Because spinach produces edible leaves fairly close to the ground, it must be washed carefully before cooking to remove any grit splashed on to the leaves by rainfall.
A well-manured, partially shaded site is best for summer spinach, and the same kind of rich soil for winter varieties but in a sunnier, sheltered spot. The crop will fail if there's insufficient lime in the soil, a pH level of 6.5 to 6.8 is recommended. Although a loamy soil is best, it is possible to grow spinach on heavy clay.
Summer varieties are sown from March to the end of July, and winter varieties in early August and again in early September.
In summer spinach can be grown between rows of other vegetables such as peas, beans and carrots, which provide shade for the growing plants.
In most parts of the country the winter crop will need some protection like a covering of straw or better still cloches, although I've found in recent years that Swiss chard stands all winter, succulent new leaves sprouting in early spring.
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| Publication: | Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales) |
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| Date: | Jul 26, 2008 |
| Words: | 573 |
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