Spinach is a vegetable that people either love or loathe. For some (especially children), it is seen as The Dreaded Vegetable. For others, it is cause for some serious salivating when they see it draped on the tables at the farmer’s market.

Flat/Smooth-Leaf Spinach

Aside from being used for processed and canned products, this smooth type of spinach is best known for use as baby spinach. Picked when it is the size of a teaspoon, baby spinach is tender, light-tasting and though it can be cooked, it is ideal eaten raw. For the fussier ones in the house, a handful of baby spinach can be tossed in with a regular salad. However, you need not mix spinach with lettuce, either. A baby spinach salad tossed with a balsamic dressing is both mouth watering and exceptionally nutritious.

Even any kind of marinated salad can benefit from a handful of baby spinach leaves. Due to their tenderness, they cannot sit in a marinated salad for too long before they wilt, so just before serving, stir in a few leaves and they will complement your salad beautifully-in appearance and in flavor.

Savoy and Semi-Savoy Spinach

These types of spinach are known for their larger, dark green, crinkled leaves. Given the slightly tougher texture and stronger flavor, savoy and semi-savoy spinach are best used for cooking. Be sure to wash spinach very carefully before cooking. The ripples in spinach leaves can easily trap dirt and grit, so to ensure they gets properly washed, soak them in a sink full of cold water and swish them around. If the spinach has particularly tough stems, you will want to trim the stems as well.

Whether sautéing, boiling or steaming spinach, allow it to cook just until it is wilted and still has a bright green color-this generally takes no more than a minute or so, depending on the amount you are using. Spinach deflates fairly drastically when cooking it, so if you need a large amount of cooked spinach, be prepared to use a fairly generous amount of raw spinach.

Over all, spinach is a versatile green. You can chuck a handful or two into any soup, stew or casserole you make. It is practically bursting full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, so adding it to your food almost daily is ideal. If you try slipping more spinach into your meals, you may quickly discover it is no longer The Dreaded Vegetable in your family, but rather the green they will ask for again and again!