Spinach

Spinach is such a regular vegetable, that one might assume its history and development as such a ubiquitous crop worldwide, might be dull. But we’re writing today to try & persuade you otherwise.

22 September 2021

Spinach was domesticated in Iran thousands of years ago, and wasn’t consumed by Ancient Greeks or Romans. Rather, it was a domesticated vegetable of the Persian Empire. Its migratory route throughout the world is still, surprisingly, unresolved and ongoing.

There are records of spinach reaching China and being cultivated there during the 7th century. Spinach is believed to have been introduced to continental Europe by Arab peoples via the Iberian Peninsular by the 12th century.

There are now two main categories of domesticated spinach in the world today. One is from Africa, the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. These varieties tend to have a round and savoyed leaf shape. The spinach we are growing at the moment, and that is in the box this week falls into this category.

The second main category is from Southern and Eastern Asia. These varieties have a more pointed, spear shaped leaves. We recently purchased some seed of this type & are really looking forward to growing it at Broom and Brine Farm in the coming months.

Wild spinach is an important third category that has only recently been studied more thoroughly. Wild spinach is collected and eaten by people in Anatolia. Its big flat leaves are sometimes used in recipes for sarma. Check out this recipe for chickpea stuffed grapevine leaf sarma.