Spinach is said to have been cultivated in Persian gardens thousands of years ago to please their much-prized cats. Today, spinach is a popular part of American cuisine and, although eating a lot of it will not make you strong as the comic strip character Popeye suggests, it is a healthy addition to the diet. Spinach is an excellent source of fiber and beta-carotene. If eaten raw it supplies a good amount of vitamin C.

• Fresh spinach is an ingredient in mixed green salads and the basis for spinach salad. Traditional spinach salad is made with bacon, hard-cooked eggs and a sweet-and-sour dressing. It is served both fresh or "wilted" with warmed dressing.
• Spinach is a cooked ingredient in a wide variety of appetizers, side dishes and entrées. Popular spinach dishes include spinach dip, creamed spinach and spinach soufflé.
• Cooked spinach can be served as a side dish, alone or in a cream sauce.

There are many varieties of spinach, but they are generally grouped by leaf type: flat and curly. Savoy and semisavoy spinach has curly, crinkly dark green leaves. It has a crisp crunchy texture but the leaves are more difficult to clean. Flat or smooth-leaf spinach has tender spade-shaped leaves. This type is often used in canned or frozen products.

Fresh spinach is available year-round either loose, in bunches or packaged in plastic bags. Flat-leaf spinach is most often found in bunches and curly-leaf spinach is usually bagged. Spinach is also available canned and frozen.

If choosing loose spinach, look for leaves with good color and a crisp texture. Avoid limp, wilted, bruised, spotted or discolored leaves. The leaves should have a fresh aroma, not a sour or musty odor. Avoid leaves with thick coarse stems as they are a sign of overgrown spinach, which can be tough and bitter. Thick stems also mean more waste, since they are removed and discarded. If purchasing spinach prepackaged, squeeze the bag to check if the contents are resilient and thus fresh and crisp.

1 pound spinach = about 10 to 12 cups torn pieces; about 1 cup cooked.

1 (10-ounce package) thawed and drained frozen spinach = about 1-1/2 cups.

Do not wash spinach before storing. Store loose spinach lightly packed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Leave prepackaged spinach in its original plastic bag. It will keep for three or four days.

All spinach should be well washed and rinsed to remove the sand and grit that adheres to the leaves. Remove any roots or slimy leaves and soak the spinach leaves in a sinkful of cold water for a few minutes. Then swish the leaves gently to remove dirt and sand. Repeat this process several times, if necessary, with fresh water. Prepackaged spinach may only need one cleaning, whereas loose spinach may need to be rinsed several times.

To remove the stems from the spinach leaves, fold each leaf in half, then pull the stem toward the the top of the leaf. Discard the stem.

For salads and other fresh uses, dry spinach leaves with paper towels or in a salad spinner. Wrap loosely in paper towels in a plastic bag and refrigerate for no more than two or three hours to crisp the leaves. If spinach is to be cooked, there is usually just enough water adhering to the leaves so that they can be steamed in a saucepan without additional liquid.

Spinach can be steamed, sautéed or stir-fried. Cook it only until it is wilted. It should still be bright green.