Spinach is a vegetable that has somewhat of a bad rap over the past few decades. That’s probably because many people only think of canned spinach when they think of it, and canned spinach is mushy and not very tasty. However, most people form a whole new opinion about it when they try fresh spinach.

It’s easy to see that spinach is just a vegetable with a public relations problem. Fortunately, a new holiday has been created to address this PR issue and help rehabilitate spinach’s image. This holiday is known as Fresh Spinach Day, and it’s celebrated annually on July 16th.

The History of Fresh Spinach Day

Spinach originally came from Persia and was known at the time as aspanakh. It was used widely in that region for centuries before it made its way to China during the 7th century. It would take many more centuries before Europe was introduced to spinach. In fact, it wasn’t until the 11th century that it was introduced to the continent by the Moors.

Unfortunately, Fresh Spinach Day is not a holiday with a clear lineage. We’re unsure of when it was created, or who created it. We do know that it’s been around for quite a few years, but we can’t even trace it back to a particular year. Hopefully, this holiday will reveal itself to us over time, but until it does, we’ll just have to keep searching.

Some Important Facts About Spinach

Below are some important facts about spinach that we think people might want to know about, especially those who aren’t sure whether they like spinach or not. So, let’s look at the following facts about spinach below.

• The top U.S. producer of spinach is the state of California.
• Spinach has to be harvested when it reaches a specific height. If left too long, it will bolt or begin to develop a yellow color.
• In 2016, over 47,000 acres of spinach were harvested.

Observing Fresh Spinach Day

Observing this holiday can be done simply by adding some fresh spinach to your daily diet. And that’s pretty easy to do. It can be used to make salads, can be used on sandwiches or in wraps, and can even be added to pizza.

Spinach can also be added to soups, dips, smoothies, baked dishes, and a wide variety of other dishes. In other words, spinach is not only delicious but also versatile. Anyone observing this holiday can spread the word about how they use it by using the hashtag #FreshSpinachDay.