Published March 1, 2000.
We discover that thick, tough supermarket spinach is often superior to delicate flat-leaf spinach when used in side dishes.
Supermarket spinach can be tough and bitter. However, it's also the most widely available variety of spinach.
Spinach has an appealing earthy, mineral taste that provides an ideal foil for bold, sharp flavors. We wanted to determine the best way to cook crinkly leaf spinach to maximize flavor and texture.
We investigated blanching, steaming, microwaving, and wilting, and we agreed that wilting was the most straightforward method that produced the best texture. To wilt the leaves, just place them, still a little damp from washing, into a pot with a small amount of hot fat over medium-high heat, and cover the pot. The water clinging to the leaves is all that’s required to cook them, breaking down the huge volume of raw leaves to a manageable quantity of cooked spinach in just three to five minutes. To accommodate the bulky spinach when raw, use the largest Dutch oven--or even stockpot--that you have. Stir several times as leaves wilt so that they cook evenly.
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