Is silverbeet called spinach? (forum)

snottiegobble starts with ...
We have heaps of silverbeet at the moment & I would like to try making Saag for which there are numerous recipes.(google)
All use "spinach" as an ingredient & common sense tells me ( because its Indian) it isnt English Spinach they refer to, but I would just like to know for certain ! Is Spinach American for silverbeet??

Time: 20th November 2011 5:22pm

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Kathy says...
Snottiegobble - I think of silverbeet as very like spinach - just less subtle!!

I see in wikipedia that it's fine to use a range of greens for Saag - so I'd say YES to silverbeet! Plus given all the spices - you don't need that subtle delicate flavour of English spinach. It might even be better.
Kathy
Saag (Hindi: साग; Punjabi: ਸਾਗ ; Oriya: ଶାଗ) or sag is a spinach and/or mustard leaf-based dish eaten in Pakistan and India with bread such as roti or naan, or rice (in Orissa and West Bengal). Saag can be made from spinach, mustard leaves, [U]or other greens[/U] , along with added spices and sometimes other ingredients such as paneer. On some menus, it is called saagwala.


Time: 20th November 2011 7:23pm

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About the Author kathyturner
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Jason says...
Given India's strong historical ties with England they would be talking about proper Spinach for sure

Time: 20th November 2011 7:26pm

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Julie says...
Americans call silverbeet 'Swiss chard'. Spinach is spinach in US. Do we have any Indian members who can clear this up?

Never heard of saag, but I'm gonna find out!

Time: 20th November 2011 8:43pm

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Original Post was last edited: 20th November 2011 8:44pm

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snottiegobble says...
Kathy, you are a wealth of info! Thankyou! I will now make my saag with confidence! I am however intrigued by the fact that you were able to include Indian symbols in your excellent reply!!

Time: 21st November 2011 1:07am

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MaryT says...
Australians calls silverbeet spinach because they used it as a substitute but it's definitely not as nice. BTW for mustard green you can use 'rocket', grows like weed here.

Time: 21st November 2011 6:22am

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Kathy says...
snottiegobble - it's a cheat - it only looks impressive - I just copied and pasted from wikipedia :(
Kathy

Time: 21st November 2011 8:16am

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Chris says...
Not quite right MaryT. In Sydney, silverbeet is most often called spinach. The real spinach is sold as English spinach. Having lived in Melbourne, silver-beet is rarely called anything else. Bit like the rockmelon/cantaloupe terminology.

Time: 21st November 2011 10:54am

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Jason says...
That's interesting Chris, I never knew Sydney folk had this secret naming system going on with silver beet and spinach.

Silver beet is called that right through Victoria and South Australia at least

Time: 21st November 2011 2:30pm

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MaryT says...
So silver beet is only called spinach in Sydney? It's nothing like spinach.

Time: 21st November 2011 10:00pm

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Jason says...
Don't look at us you are the one from Sydney lol

Time: 21st November 2011 10:17pm

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MaryT says...
I'm not from Sydney; just live here :) so I have to learn its language.

Time: 21st November 2011 11:10pm

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Chris says...
I'm a transplant too! Moved to Sydney later on in life. And you are right they are not at all alike in taste or botanically speaking.

Time: 22nd November 2011 12:00am

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Pauline says...
We call it both chard and silverbeet (coloured is always chard) in the uk. :-)
I have seen them labelled as both on the same label here for seedlings.
They taste pretty simular to me. I use chard for saag. :-)

Time: 22nd November 2011 1:13pm

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About the Author Pauline
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snottiegobble says...
Well I made chicken saag using what I thought was a hell of a lot of silverbeet, but it melted down in the wok to something I could handle & I got an A+ from my better half! Thanks Google, & everyone on the thread!

Time: 22nd November 2011 10:25pm

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Kathy says...
Yum: what was your recipe?
Kathy

Time: 23rd November 2011 3:14pm

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JulieN says...
In my experience (50-odd years)(or 50 odd years) in NSW, silverbeet was called spinach "in the olden days" as English spinach was rarely available. In these days where just about everything is available, silverbeet is called silverbeet & English Spinach is called English Spinach. Silverbeet does cook down to a reasonable substitute (I actually prefer it!) if you cut out the thick stems - but they're yummy too, if you slice them finely. I also suspect that "baby spinach" is a different species, and what I call swiss chard is actually beetroot leaves, with the lovely red veins. Then you've got that Indonesian vine that's referred to as some sort of spinach but the leaves are quite thick and succulent. That said, it does taste very similar.

Time: 2nd December 2011 9:41am

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Pauline says...
Swiss chard is white stems, ruby chard is red stems. They are different to beetroot, but the same family. :-)

Time: 2nd December 2011 4:32pm

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About the Author Pauline
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Chris says...
JulieN, silverbeet is still called spinach here in Sydney!
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 3rd December 2011 4:26pm

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Pauline says...
To be honest, one of the things I found very hard to get used to when moving to oz was that so many things are mislabelled. My total pet hate. Even cooking shows would call things the wrong thing. The amount of times I would be shouting at the tv things like 'a baby chicken is not called a spatchcock, get your researchers to google!' (and it wasn't a spatchcocked poussin either).
And don't even get me started in 'steak' pies, Cornish pasties and beef wellingtons! Lol

Time: 4th December 2011 11:28am

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Mike says...
I reckon it is always best to go with the local name when there are numerous names for the same fruit or vegetable.That even goes for regional names like those outposts that have different names for eggplant,zucchini and rock melon.If you use an imported name and stick to your guns in defiance of local vernacular it is poor form.It is a different situation where the names are just incorrect or swapped around like what often happens with bok choy and pak choy or spring onions and shallots.

Time: 4th December 2011 4:09pm

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Pauline says...
Yes, I am talking of the switched around names mostly. Zucchini instead of courgettes, capsicum instead of peppers etc are all good. It is where it is just plain wrong which drives me mad.
I kn

Time: 4th December 2011 9:41pm

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snottiegobble says...
Some of the biggest misnomers : pawpaw instead of Papaya, Kiwifruit instead of Chinese gooseberries, New Zealand Yams instead of Ocas & even Tamarillo isnt the correct name for Tree tomatoes, but who would argue about Canola being used instead of Rape!

Time: 5th December 2011 6:42pm

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Mike says...
Asimina has a corrupted copy of the original name for Carica papaya in the west indies which was paw paw.Paw paw changed to papaya in the US but paw paw remained for Asimina.
Trivia......Pauline what vegies have you seen that are just incorrectly named?

Time: 5th December 2011 7:03pm

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Speedy says...
Courgette is French name which has been adopted in UK ,
zucchini is Italian name ...Italians where largely responsible for it's introduction to the Australian vernacular... we could argue about whos right ... French or Italian, but the plant being originally from the Americas, Summer squash , even though we may use that term for different looking veges, it may trump both french and Italian names.
That all being said, I reckon Mike's on the money....
go with the local names.

Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) was introduced to Europe before Potato (Solanum tuberosum) and it was known as potato (batata, batatas ... see the latin name)
the 'Irish' potato (Solanum) was later introduced and was more suited to the growing conditions and so of course took over it's place on the table in Europe, and the name.
so, is it still wrong to call Solanum tuberosum a 'potato' after more than 300yrs use and cultivation in Europe.

I've even heard ppl in NNSW refer to sweet potato as 'sweet spuds'.
Spud is a term given to potato (S.tuberosum) named after a digging tool used in cultivation.
so, names for plants have been stolen for others and other names stolen back.

I could go on about hmany other 'wrong names'
eg. 'Brazilian cherry'
is it Eugenia brasiliensis (or is that a Grumichama) , Eugenia uniflora(or is that Surinam Cherry, or Pitanga), is it a cherry (Prunus sp.) at all?
Why call it a cherry when its not a cherry?
same arguments could be said for any vege or fruit you could think of.

this stuff has been going on for centuries and will continue.
Language is living and rarely static.



Time: 6th December 2011 9:48am

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MaryT says...
I agree, Speedy; "Language is living and rarely static" and when in Rome... even in different parts in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan wherever you find a Chinese, a "Bok Choy" has different names

Time: 6th December 2011 10:39am

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Pauline says...
Veggies not so much, other than butternuts being called pumpkins when they are actually winter squash. But I am used to that now. ;-)
It is more often something which has been bought to oz from somewhere else and then changed. I saw a Herman girl in a Herman pub having a big argument with the waiting staff as she had ordered xxxx dish. From what I heard the dish came out didn't even slightly resemble the dish which actually had that name. She was even braking it down saying 'look, this word is german for (whatever it was), but there isn't even and of xxxx in this'.
There are many smaller examples.

Time: 6th December 2011 6:26pm

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About the Author Pauline
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Speedy says...
Yes, Pauline , I get what your saying and have to agree with you there.
definitly a case of 'lost in translation'... or more correctly in that example , not even translated and reproduced to feature the named ingredient.
yes, I have to say that that sort of thing irks me too.

Time: 6th December 2011 8:20pm

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Mike says...
Sometimes it goes even further just ask a Thai person for Thai Basil or a Vietnamese person for Vietnamese mint, a french person for french shallots or a chinese person for chinese cabbage.

Time: 6th December 2011 11:01pm

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MaryT says...
Like Chinese sayings, Mike? LOL I love it that we're supposed to have said everything that's wise :) Lost in translation is right, Speedy; the name does not say it all.

Time: 7th December 2011 6:23am

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amanda says...
So true :) Must admit I get a bit frustrated with the confusion over spring onion, green onion, shallot, french shallot, salad onion etc...when trying to use a recipe from a non-Aust cook book..?

Time: 7th December 2011 11:10am

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Julie says...
Not just non-Australian cook books amanda. The Women's Weekly books insist on calling spring onions 'shallots'. They have photos of various ingredients, otherwise I wouldn't have a clue what they meant.

It's time this was sorted out once and for all.

Time: 7th December 2011 7:57pm

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snottiegobble says...
To my mind shallots are onions that grow in clusters, in other words you plant one & it reproduces itself many times. Unlike spring onions ,shallots have brown to gold skin just like their larger cousins brown onions, but have a milder flavour!
There are also potato onions & tree onions that are also small with brown skin, but they have slightly different shape & habits. Unlike spring onions these above mentioned can be stored & used dry!

Time: 7th December 2011 8:48pm

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amanda says...
Get out of here SG! lol...I've never seen a real live potatoe onion..? I wish that shallot would = French shallot, Spring onion = spring onion/green onion, salad onion = white onion (or spanish/red onion) and just "an" onion = brown onion...?

I fairly easy to work out in the context of a recipe most times tho...

Incidentally - for those who are 'sensitive' to brown onions - french shallots are often tolerated better...

Time: 7th December 2011 9:54pm

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MaryT says...
Speaking of spring onions Amanda, black thrips just LOVE them (and garlic chives) so I plant them as a 'distraction' from other things (such as sweet basil). It works.

Time: 8th December 2011 5:49am

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