What would Popeye do?

February 20, 2009 7:40 AM

Sauteed spinach snafu! (bubbling spinach and fishy smells!) What am I doing wrong?

I had a strange experience while trying to cook some spinach last night and wanted to know if anyone has experienced anything similar, whether it was safe to eat, etc.

I bought a bunch of fresh baby spinach and stored it in a "Debbie Meyer Green Bag" in the produce drawer of my fridge for a couple days. This was the first time using one of these green bags, fyi.

I took the spinach out yesterday and was going to saute some in a frying pan with olive oil and garlic. The spinach looked and smelled perfectly fresh, but I wasn't sure if it was pre-washed so I decided to rinse it with cold water. I didn't dry it completely, just sort of shook handfuls of it over the sink to get some water off, then dropped it in the frying pan with hot oil in it (not boiling hot, but sauteing-greens-hot).

Here's where it got weird....the spinach started to bubble. The 'skin' (outside layer?) of the spinach leaves started to balloon up as though gas was trapped inside. The bubbles formed on the surface of the spinach leaves were somewhat large and transparent. (Wish I had taken a photo) Then it started to smell like fish. It was so strong that I lost my appetite. (Although, it should be mentioned that I'm a vegetarian and don't eat fish, so this may have contributed to my strong aversion to the smell).

Anyway, this seemed really weird to me. But I had never sauteed spinach before (just other greens such as broccoli rabe). Maybe it had something to do with the debbie meyer green bags? Their website states that they"absorb the ethelyne gas that is released by the food, which prevents the gas from staying in the fruit, and thus helping your food stay fresher longer." Maybe there's some weird gas thing going on with the food? Maybe it had to do with the water/ hot oil combo? Or perhaps this is something totally normal and I just never experienced it before. If you know what I'm doing wrong or how to avoid that fishy smell please let me know! Thanks!!

posted by dm_nyc to food & drink (16 comments total)

I think your pan and oil was too hot, and you overcooked it (fishy smell). I do this all the time :P You should use a lower setting on the stove and put the oil in just a few moments ahead of your food. Also, if you're vegetarian maybe a salad spinner would be a good investment for quick-drying your veggies before frying.
posted by lizbunny at 7:51 AM on February 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Spinach is fairly delicate, I suspect that the leaves were burnt by the oil. That your nose perceived the smell as fishy, I can't comment on. Maybe someone who knows food chemistry can explain this.

If you want to sautee spinach in oil in the future, maybe try a lower heat.

Otherwise it's more usual to place just washed fresh spinach in a dry pan on medium heat. The water clinging to the spinach and moisture within the spinach will be enough to initially steam it. When the steaming dissipates--after a few minutes of stirring--you can add butter [if you use butter] or olive oil. The oil can be straight out of the bottle or oil in which you sauteed some garlic beforehand. Garlic and spinach go together! Oh yes, add salt and pepper.

Spinach can absorb quite a bit of fat, it doesn't give much of a visual cue as to when it's done, so taste it. You don't want it to be an oily, slippery gloppy mass. And if the leaves are large to begin with it's ok to chop them up first and to remove big stems too.

Sauteed spinach is delicious--just don't overcook.
posted by subatomiczoo at 7:54 AM on February 20, 2009

That's...odd. I've used both bagged and fresh spinach exactly like this (washing, shaking, and putting into hot oil) for years and I've never experienced anything like this. I don't think the bubbling/fish smell has anything to do with the Debbie Meyer bags, granted I've never stored fresh spinach in them before. Maybe try it next time without the Debbie Meyer bag (since that appears to be the only real difference)?

For your next spinach experience, I suggest tossing some pine nuts into the hot oil, browning them, followed by some chopped garlic prior to adding the spinach.
posted by rand at 7:54 AM on February 20, 2009

Some of my frying pans retain cooking smells, and some oils seem to go "fishy".
posted by theora55 at 8:16 AM on February 20, 2009

Was the oil rancid? That would be my first guess. It doesn't explain the bubbling but rancid oil, especially when heated, smells awful.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 8:31 AM on February 20, 2009

I would definitely second the suspicion about the oil. Certain foods can develop a fishy odor when going bad (cashews are famous for that).

By the way, I have read Consumer Reports tests that show that Debbie Meyer bags are no better than Glad Bags, but I doubt the freshness of the spinach was the problem since you noted their condition and that you had washed them.
posted by Piscean at 8:50 AM on February 20, 2009

Nthing the pan was too hot and the wet spinach didnt help. Maybe your pan wasnt fully clean and stored some oil residue?

But I can say, imho, that those DM green bags suck. They really do. And it wouldnt surprise me at all that a fishy smell may be associated with some kind of off-gassing or whatever with them. I've had food rot in a day in those things. Did I mention they suck?Anyway, my two pennies.
posted by elendil71 at 8:53 AM on February 20, 2009

Yeah, pan was too hot. What everyone else said.
posted by electroboy at 9:01 AM on February 20, 2009

Nthing that the pan and oil were too hot.

When I prepare spinach using this method I keep the stove on medium low, toss the spinach a little in the oil (just enough to coat the pan), and let it slowly wilt over the heat. It feels to me more like braising than sauteing, which I associate w/ high heat. I toss in the chopped garlic towards the end and I add a 1/2 cup of broth to the mix as well. It's delicious every time.
posted by hellboundforcheddar at 9:03 AM on February 20, 2009

I've found that extra-virgin olive oil can smell somewhat fishy when it scorches - which would line up nicely with the "the pan's too hot" suggestions that everyone's been saying.
posted by deadmessenger at 10:03 AM on February 20, 2009

I've never seen spinach do what you describe, and this is the first I've heard of Debbie Meyer, but I do sautee spinach pretty regularly (once a week or so).

I usually use medium/medium-high heat, sautee the garlic briefly, and add spinach. It goes really quickly--no more than a minute or two. I usually top with a squeeze of lemon or lime.

For storing spinach and other greens in the fridge, the best thing I've found is to wrap them in a damp kitchen towel. It keeps them moist but still allows them to breathe.
posted by fogovonslack at 10:08 AM on February 20, 2009

I had the same experience as elendil71 with the Debbie Meyer bags. Waste of $10, for sure.

The rest: what everyone else said.
posted by batmonkey at 10:08 AM on February 20, 2009

In addition to the above comments, note that spinach cooks very quickly. It's not like onions, eggplant, mushrooms, bell peppers, or other vegetables that get better and more flavorful as you cook them longer and longer. If I'm sauteing or simmering some kind of mixture and I want to include spinach, I'll often add the spinach near the end, make sure it gets coated with oil, and stop cooking shortly thereafter. Recipes often say to saute for 5 minutes; I aim for more like 3 minutes. So if you cooked it for, say, 12-15 minutes, that might be part of the problem (along with overheated oil).
posted by Jaltcoh at 10:37 AM on February 20, 2009

My $0.02? I think that you ended up getting some soap in the works somehow. Either that, or you're dealing with a rotten/rancid component as suggested above.
posted by Citrus at 10:44 AM on February 20, 2009

Bubbling -- yes, pan too hot. You didn't saute so much as you deep fried it, minus the "deep."

And then, assuming that your oil wasn't bad (and by the way, canola oil ALWAYS smells fishy to me; are you sure you used olive oil?) I suspect that you cooked the spinach to the point of it becoming a slimy green substance. At which point it can start to smell like another slimy green substance -- seaweed. Which smells like fish.
posted by mudpuppie at 11:40 AM on February 20, 2009

The pan probably was too hot..although I could have sworn the burner wasn't turned on high. Oh well. There was definitely no soap or rancid oil involved. However when I got back home after posting this I saw that I had used my roommate's olive oil accidentally and it was enriched with omega 3, so I guess explains the smell. The bubbling was so weird, so I'm still not convinced it was just due to a hot pan...but oh well. I will be sure to thoroughly dry my greens from now on and use regular olive oil and a not-too-hot pan! (Or just stick to broccoli rabe since I seem to have that one down). Thanks everyone!
posted by dm_nyc at 8:25 AM on February 23, 2009