Currently not in season

Spinach in the Thermomix®

We have matched 8 English Thermomix® recipes with spinach. Here is the season window, buying advice and the best MixMyDay recipe links.

Seasonal calendar by month

When are spinach in season?

In season across Europe in spring from March to June and in autumn from September to October.

Outdoor crop: fresh European harvest. Protected crop: greenhouse or covered cultivation. Stored: European harvest kept in storage.

Buying and storing spinach

Spinach grows in two main seasons: in spring you get tender leaf spinach and baby spinach with a mild, slightly sweet flavour; in autumn come stronger, more savoury varieties with firmer leaves. Well-known types include Viroflay (large, dark green, mild) and Bloomsdale (deeply coloured, blistered in texture, crisp). Fresh spinach has upright, deep green leaves with no yellow patches or slimy areas. Limp or wet leaves are a sign that freshness is fading.

Fresh spinach is very delicate and keeps in the fridge for 1 to 2 days at most. Wrapping the bag in a damp cloth extends the freshness a little. To freeze spinach, blanch it briefly (1 minute), refresh it straight away, squeeze out the water well and freeze in portions. Frozen like this, it keeps for up to 12 months.

Preparing spinach in the Thermomix®

In the Thermomix® we treat spinach as gently as possible. For our spinach soup, heat the washed leaves briefly with stock at 100°C on speed 1, then blend smooth on speed 10. Keep in mind that fresh spinach collapses to about a tenth of its volume when cooked, so weigh out generously. For green smoothies, drop the raw leaves into the mixing bowl with the liquid and blend smooth on speed 10.

Do not overcook spinach: 1 to 2 minutes at 100°C is enough. Heating it for too long destroys the colour and the delicate flavour. For risotto and pasta dishes we add it only in the final minutes.

The most common mistakes with spinach

Too much heat and cooking it too long. Spinach cooks with even a short burst of heat and loses its bright green colour and mild flavour if cooked too long. 1 to 2 minutes in the Thermomix® at 100°C is plenty.
Underestimating the volume. Fresh spinach shrinks to about a tenth of its raw volume when heated. For one portion of spinach as a vegetable or in a soup, reckon on at least 200 to 300 g of fresh leaves per person.
Not draining it well after blanching. Blanched spinach holds a lot of water. If you use it for fillings, bakes or rolls, squeeze it out firmly after refreshing, or the dough or topping turns too wet.

Complete list

All 8 Thermomix® recipes with spinach

Spinach as the main ingredient (2 recipes)

Spinach in more recipes (6 recipes)

Goes well with spinach

These seasonal ingredients are in season at the same time, ideal for combining:

Spinach in the monthly calendar:

FAQ

Good to know

When is spinach in season?

Spinach from European growers has two seasons: spring from March to June and autumn from September to October. In the remaining months it usually comes from imports.

What is the difference between spring and autumn spinach?

Spring spinach has tender, mild leaves, ideal for salads, smoothies and quick dishes. Autumn spinach has firmer, more savoury leaves and is especially good for soups, bakes and hearty fillings.

How long does fresh spinach keep?

Fresh spinach is very delicate and should be used within 1 to 2 days. Wrapped in a damp cloth in the fridge it stays fresh a little longer. Frozen after blanching, it keeps for up to 12 months.

How much fresh spinach do you need per person?

Fresh spinach collapses to a tenth of its volume when cooked. As a vegetable side you reckon on at least 200 to 300 g of raw leaves per person, and correspondingly less for soups or smoothies.

How many Thermomix® recipes with spinach are there?

There are currently 8 recipes in our collection. You will find them above, sorted by main ingredient and supporting ingredient.