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How can you eat kale and spinach and not worry about oxalates?

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Recorded

This event was on February 4, 2025

Join Chef Eric Wynkoop in his virtual office as he welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to Ask Anything – from cooking techniques to course-specific questions, to how to turn your cooking passion into profit or simply hearing the perspective of a professional chef, Chef Eric is ready to answer them all.

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Question

Sue Michaels

How can you eat kale and spinach and not worry about oxalates?

Answer

So this is really gonna be an individual concern. Um, there are certainly a, a lot of folks that will eat, um, kale and spinach in its raw form. You know, you cut it into a shiff, a nod, you put that into a salad and, um, you know, it, it, uh, it, it, it tastes great and it, it doesn't bother a lot of people. But if you find that oxalates bother you, then I recommend avoiding the raw consumption of these, these food products. But otherwise, that's gonna be an individual, uh, concern, an individual decision.

Eric Wynkoop

Director of Culinary Instruction

Eric Wynkoop previously served as a founding faculty member at The International Culinary School, instructor in anthropology at Portland State University, and Senior Instructor at the Le Cordon Bleu program at Western Culinary Institute, in Portland, Oregon. He holds Master’s Degrees in postsecondary education and cultural anthropology, as well as credentials in Ayurveda wellness and cooking. Eric has spent more than twenty years in the food and beverage industry. His experiences include banquet management, catering, personal chef, winery cellar hand, educator, textbook contributor, consultant, and ethnographer. He also brings food and cultural insight from nearly a decade of residence in Japan, studies in Mexico, and research in India as a Fulbright Scholar. After graduating from the University of Oregon with a dual degree in Japanese and Asian Studies, he went on to receive his formal culinary training at Western Culinary Institute, in Portland, Oregon. Eric’s role with Rouxbe is central to enhancing the student experience through quality course content and new course development at Rouxbe. Eric is also the lead instructor in Rouxbe courses, a role which he has enjoyed since 2016.