New Zealand Spinach - Tetragone - Tetragonia tetragonioides

New Zealand Spinach is a vigorous annual vegetable plant that resembles Spinach while offering a unique iodine flavour. It has the particularity of being resistant to heat and can be cooked like Spinach. The sowing period extends from March to June for a harvest from July to October.

New Zealand Spinach is not, from a botanical point of view, a spinach but rather a distinct species also known as Tetragonia. It is an annual vegetable plant that belongs to the Aizoaceae family, which usually includes plants that are very drought-resistant. It gets its name from Tetragonia due to the shape of its seeds, which have 4 sides.

Commonly grown in traditional vegetable gardens, Tetragonia seems to be making a comeback in recent years because, in terms of flavour, it is far from being a pale imitation of spinach: it is similar but its leaves are fleshy and have a very interesting slight iodine taste. Many chefs have been incorporating it into their menus in recent years.

In cooking, Tetragonia is prepared like spinach and can be consumed raw or cooked, in salads, steamed, or quickly sautéed in a pan. It is a vegetable rich in vitamin C and minerals.

This is a plant that develops quite rapidly and, when mature, forms a spreading tuft that can reach up to 60 cm (24in) in height. Its leaves are triangular and particularly large. Unlike spinach, it does not easily go to seed even during episodes of intense heat.

Harvest: The harvest of New Zealand Spinach takes place approximately 3 months after sowing, leaf by leaf, based on their growth and needs. The leaves located around the plant are cut, so that there is no damage to the heart that continues to develop and produce new leaves.

Storage: New Zealand Spinach does not keep very well in the refrigerator as it tends to become soft. It is best to consume it a few hours after harvesting. However, you can freeze it after blanching it for 3 minutes in salted boiling water.

Gardener's tip: To limit watering, we recommend, once the soil is well warmed up, mulching the soil with thin successive layers of grass clippings, ideally mixed with dead leaves. This protection, which keeps the soil moist, also limits weeding.