Kale, Spinach, and Corn

Spinach

While clearly visible as a green leafy vegetable, spinach actually falls into a different food family than many other well-known green leafy vegetables. In the cruciferous vegetable family you will find collard greens, kale, mustard and turnip greens, bok choy and arugula. Spinach, however, is not a cruciferous vegetable but belongs to a food family known as the chenopod or amaranth family. (The science names here are Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae.) Among other green leafy vegetables in this chenopod group, beet greens and Swiss chard are perhaps the best-known (and of course beets themselves are also members of this food family). Yet foods in the chenopod family also extend outside of the vegetable group. The grains amaranth and quinoa are also members of this same food family that contains spinach and Swiss chard.

The genus/species name for spinach is Spinacia oleracea, and within this genus/species can be found many different varieties of spinach. Most popular descriptions of spinach varieties include three groups: savoy, semi-savoy, and flat-leafed. Savoy varieties of spinach typically feature leaves that are more curly and crinkly, and "springy" to the touch. Flat-leafed varieties are much more flat just like their name suggests, as well as smoother and often more broad. Some of the flat-leafed varieties of spinach are quite famous for their spade-shaped leaves. Semi-savoy varieties fall somewhere in the middle of this curly versus flat spectrum. Some people consider the flat-leafed varieties of spinach as easier to clean, but we have not found spinach cleaning to be difficult in the case of any varieties. It's worth noting here that you will often hear flat-leafed spinach also being referred to as smooth-leafed spinach.

Alongside of these distinctions between savoy, semi-savoy and flat-leafed, you will also hear spinach varieties being referred to by color. For example, purple passion spinach and red mountain spinach are terms that you might hear in this context. While these varieties still belong to the chenopod family of foods, but they do not belong to the same genus/species of spinach as has been included at WHFoods (Spinacia oleraceae. Purple passion spinach and red mountain spinach actually belong to the genus/species Atriplex hortensis and are often described as being members of the orach subgroup within the chenopod family.

You may also hear spinach being referred to as Malabar or New Zealand spinach. In this case, we have left the chenopod family entirely, and we have shifted over into a different family of foods known as the Basellaceaefamily. While the leaves of Malabar/New Zealand spinach may appear similar to the spinach leaves that we are familiar with in the supermarket, these leaves actually grown on a vine and they have their own unique nutrient composition.

In general, spinach is a cool season crop and sensitive to excessive heat. It is also fairly fast-growing. Given its fast growth rage and susceptibility to heat, spinach can quickly form flowers and seeds and put more energy into this flower/seed development than into leaf growth. The emergence of flowering and seed development in plants is called bolting. Because spinach can be quick to bolt (thus producing fewer large-sized leaves), spinach growers often talk about spinach varieties as either "slow-bolting" or "fast-bolting." Slow-bolting spinach is more heat resistant and thus slower to form flowers/seeds. Slow-bolting is not necessary the same as highly productive, however, and growers often look for trade-offs between rate of bolting and rate of growth/leaf formation.

Some popular varieties of savoy spinach include Bloomsdale, Harmony, and Avon. Popular flat-leafed varieties include Red Kitten, Corvair, Bordeaux, and Space. Semi-savoy varieties include Indian Summer, Tyee, and Melody.

History

Spinach is generally regarded as being native to the Middle East, and appears to have been cultivated there for well over a thousand years. Trading between the Middle East and Asia is believed to have been responsible for the migration of spinach to several Asian countries, and today there are few places in the world where spinach is not found as a cultivated food.

Within the United States, the average adult consumed 1.7 pounds of spinach in 2014, and California served as the largest spinach-producing state with about 45,000 harvested acres. Arizona, New Jersey, and Texas combined with California to account for 98% of all commercially grown spinach in the U.S.

On a global level, China currently produces the greatest amount of commercially grown spinach, with the United States, Japan, and Turkey also falling into the Top 10 countries for spinach production.

How to Select and Store

Choose spinach that has vibrant deep green leaves and stems with no signs of yellowing. The leaves should look fresh and tender, and not be wilted or bruised. Avoid those that have a slimy coating as this is an indication of decay.
Do not wash spinach before storing as the exposure to water encourages spoilage. Place spinach in a plastic storage bag and wrap the bag tightly around the spinach, squeezing out as much of the air as possible. Place in refrigerator where it will keep fresh for up to 5 days.

 Here is some background on why we recommend refrigerating spinach. Whenever food is stored, four basic factors affect its nutrient composition: exposure to air, exposure to light, exposure to heat, and length of time in storage. Vitamin C, vitamin B6, and carotenoids are good examples of nutrients highly susceptible to heat, and for this reason, their loss from food is very likely to be slowed down through refrigeration.

sumber : https://garden.org/learn/articles/view/397/

Corn

Corn is authentically American. A member of the grass family, it was first domesticated from a wild grain several thousand years ago by Aztec and Mayan Indians in Mexico and Central America. The first corn was a loose-podded variety that looked like the seed head at the top of wheat stalks. The kernels were small and each covered by a hull. Central and South American peoples came to depend so heavily on corn -- or maize -- that they devised some of the earliest calendars just to keep track of their corn planting and harvesting schedules.
Eventually, corn's popularity spread to North America. By the time the first European settlers arrived on this continent, corn was the chief food crop of the native Indians. The colonists quickly learned how to grow corn, and they enthusiastically adopted the new staple. In fact, much of the early fighting that took place between the settlers and the Indians was over cornfields. The stakes were high; losing a cornfield meant losing your food supply.
Back then, people raised what's now called field corn. Some corn was eaten fresh, but most of the harvest was cooked in fried cakes, breads and puddings, dried for winter storage or ground into cornmeal and corn flour. Field corn was also used for livestock feed, as it is today. Sweet corn varieties weren't developed until the 1700s.

Over the years, cross-pollination during cultivation caused genetic changes that transformed corn into the shape and size we now know. Today, corn is still more popular in this country than anywhere else in the world. There are thousands of strains of corn, with more than 200 varieties of sweet corn alone.

Varieties

All the varieties can be divided into four basic groups: field corn, sweet corn, popcorn and ornamental corn. There are many varieties of field corn; some are favorites of gardeners and farmers who eat them as roasting ears. These can be "dent" or "flint" corns, both of which can also be dried and ground for homemade meal. Flint corn has a hard-shelled kernel, and it does well in the cooler climates of New England and Canada. Dent corn is somewhat hard-shelled, and the top of the kernel forms a characteristic dented shape when the ears are mature.

Popcorn, another hard-shelled variety, contains very hard starch that expands when heated until the kernel pops. For all the corn groups, kernel texture, shape and flavor are often governed by the starch and sugar content, and this differs with each variety. These variations are exactly what make our favorite fresh corn varieties the soft-shelled, moist and sweet-tasting ones; that's why they're known as sweet corn.

How Corn Grows

Whether you're raising field corn, popcorn or sweet corn, they all grow basically the same way. Once the seed or kernel is planted in an inch or two of soil, it germinates in 5 to 12 days, depending on the variety and the soil temperature. Corn won't germinate if the soil temperature is below 55° F. It germinates fastest in soil that's 68° to 86° F.

After the seed sprouts, it sends down a taproot and starts to develop its first leaves. These leaves resemble blades of grass when they sprout.

As it grows, corn develops a thick, fibrous stalk and many flat, pointed leaves. The stalk can grow as tall as 15 feet, depending on the climate and variety. The roots of each plant grow down 3 to 5 feet and extend about 1 foot or so to each side of the stalk. Some of the roots develop above the ground. These are called "prop roots," and they serve as natural supports for the tall stalks.

Sumber : https://garden.org/learn/articles/view/397/

Kale

Description

Kale is a remarkable member of the cruciferous vegetable family known for its ability to thrive during the cooler seasons of the year and its tendency to grow wild on many different continents, and especially in countries bordering along the Mediterranean Sea. The cool-season nature of kale can sometimes be reflected in its flavor. When exposed to frost, kale can sometimes take on a sweeter taste (that is due to the conversion of some kale starches into sugars). Overall, however, the taste of kale can be surprisingly varied, from bitter or peppery to more plain and slightly sweet.
The three types of kale that we have become familiar with in the produce section of today's grocery stores are actually domesticated versions of wild plants that took farmers hundreds of years to develop. These three types include (1) flatter, wider-leafed kale, (2) darker Lacinato-type kale, and (3) more tightly formed, curly leafed kale. The list below shows some common kale varieties belonging to each of these three types:

(1) Flatter, Wider-Leafed Kale

• Smooth German
• Red Russian
• Beria
• Black Magic
• Tronchuda

(2) Darker, Lacinato-Type Kale (also sometimes called Napus or Siberian type kale)

• Tuscan Black
• Dinosaur Kale
• Toscano

(3) More Tightly Formed, Curly-Leafed Kale (also sometimes called Scotch or Scotch-curled kale)

• Dwarf Blue Curled
• Starbor
• Darkibor
• Winterbor

Of course, there are not always sharp dividing lines between these three types of kale, and you can expect to find varieties that blend different features. Regardless of variety, however, all versions of kale are considered cruciferous vegetables and belong to the Brassica genus of plants that also includes bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, mustard greens, and turnip greens.
You can find different colors of kale in all three categories described above. However, the most common leaf colors are light to dark green and lavender to dark purple. You'll also find green-leafed kale with purple stems and veins. All of the kales discussed thus far fall into the general category of "culinary kales" that are intended to be eaten. "Ornamental kales" are also edible, but since they have been developed primarily for appearance rather than taste or texture, they may be tougher in texture and harsher in taste.
Unfortunately from a science perspective, there is not always a guaranteed connection between the genus/species/subspecies of kale plant and the looks of the leaves as described above. However, the most common genus/species types of kale are Brassica oleracea and Brassica napus. The most common subspecies (ssp.) and varieties (var.) are:

• Brassica oleracea ssp. Acephala group
• Brassica oleracea var. sabellica
• Brassica oleracea var. palmifolia
• Brassica oleracea var. ramosa
• Brassica oleracea var. costata
• B. napus ssp. napus var. pabularia

Along with broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and kohlrabi, you might also hear kale being referred to as a "cole crop." In general, this term refers to foods found in the Brassica oleracea genus/species of plant, and it comes from the Latin word "caulis" meaning "stem."

History

Kale as we know it today was first cultivated in the Mediterranean region over 2,000 years ago. It played an important role in the food supply of Europe through the time of the Roman Empire and during the medieval period in Europe between the 5th and 15th centuries. European colonizers are believed to have brought the first kale to North America in the 1600's, and Russian traders are believed to have first brought this vegetable to Canada a century or so later.
Several thousand farms in the United States grow kale on a commercial basis, primarily in California, Georgia, New Jersey, and Texas. Compared with its fellow cruciferous vegetable, broccoli, total kale acreage is low, and between 5,000-7,500 acres. (For comparison, broccoli acreage is noted to be 130,000-150,000 acres.)

Nutritional Profile

Our rating system shows kale to be an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin A, manganese, and copper; a very good source of vitamin B6, fiber, calcium, potassium, vitamin E, and vitamin B2; and a good source of iron, magnesium vitamin B1, omega-3 fats, phosphorus, protein, folate, and vitamin B3.

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