Sour as Sorrel

In short: Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is a sour meadow herb whose young, light green leaves can replace lemon in salads, soups, sauces and egg or fish dishes. Because it contains a lot of oxalic acid, eat no more than 50–100 g of leaves a day. It grows 30–100 cm tall and is easy to sow from seed, even in a pot.

Sorrels belong to the knotweed family (Polygonaceae), genus Rumex. This genus includes around 200 plant species that occur worldwide, primarily in the Northern Hemisphere.

Among the most widespread in our region is common sorrel (Rumex acetosa, syn. Acetosa pratensis), sometimes also known as garden sorrel or spinach dock. Another common representative of this genus is curled dock (Rumex crispus). Both are found mainly in pastures and meadows with moist soil.

Children often pick and taste sorrels. No wonder, as its sour taste is truly pleasant and refreshing. Thanks to this, it can find a place as an interesting spice or vegetable in your kitchen as well.

Sorrels in the Kitchen

For cooking, we select preferably young, light green leaves. Fresh spring leaves are most suitable. However, usable ones can also be found in summer. We avoid old thick leaves with reddish spots.

Sorrel is suitable for savory dishes that we want to liven up, for example instead of lemon. We usually use finely chopped leaves. It's suitable for salads, soups and sauces, with poultry or fish.

If we add sorrel when preparing eggs, it will enhance the color of the yolk and add a special flavor to the white. Fish flavored with sorrel also tastes excellent; for example, salmon with sorrel is very famous in French cuisine.

Sorrel contains large amounts of oxalic acid, which is otherwise present in almost every leafy vegetable and fruit, but in sorrel in greater quantities. Therefore, do not eat more than 50, maximum 100g of its leaves daily. The acid can be neutralized by cooking it in milk, which is why sorrel is most often part of cream sauces and soups.

Sorrel Soup

Ingredients:

- 1 egg

- a piece of butter

- cooking cream

- chopped sorrel leaves (50g)

- pre-cooked diced potatoes

- spices to taste (salt, pepper, vegetable seasoning, vinegar, mace)

Method:

Briefly sauté the chopped sorrel leaves in butter. Add spices (salt, pepper, vegetable seasoning, mace) and water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes; the sorrel must not overcook.

Then add the pre-cooked potatoes and let it cook for another 10 minutes. Stir the egg into the boiling water. Depending on the sourness of the sorrel, we can add vinegar. When the soup stops boiling, stir in the cream.

Serve the soup with fresh bread.

If you've enjoyed sorrel and would like to have fresh leaves available year-round, you can grow it in a pot or preserve it for storage - chop the sorrel and braise it in fat (carefully, so it doesn't overcook - 5 minutes is enough) and transfer it into jars (smaller ones are suitable). Seal the jars and sterilize them for 10 minutes at 90 degrees.

An Unexpected Medicinal Herb

Especially in the Middle Ages, sorrel was used as a medicinal herb. It contains large amounts of vitamin C and provitamin A, iron, potassium, calcium and other elements. It is also used to obtain green food colouring.

Sorrel works best when fresh - drying destroys almost all active substances. The only way to preserve it is by canning in jars, which maintains at least some of its effectiveness. Common sorrel has greater medicinal power, but if you can't find it, curled dock can also be used.

Thanks to its iron content, consuming sorrel helps with blood formation and against anaemia. It supports digestion and regulates bowel movements - the leaves and rhizome have a mild laxative effect, while the seeds have a binding effect.

Sorrel fruits (seeds) have a strong anti-diarrhoeal effect and often help even when common industrial medicines fail.

Growing Sorrel

You can usually easily find sorrel in nature, as it's a common weed in meadows or fields. It's more frequent in moist soils or places with excess nitrogen.

The plant is easy to recognize - it's typically 30-100 cm tall, with arrow-shaped leaves. Curled dock additionally has wavy leaf edges.

If you're not sure, just taste a small piece - if it's sour, it's the right plant; if not, better spit it out.

Collect young fresh leaves and avoid old and reddish ones.

If you'd like to have sorrel closer than the meadow, it's not difficult at all to grow it. Simply collect seeds from flowering plants in summer, let them dry and sow them.

The seeds have very high germination rates (around 80%) and you can collect them for storage - they remain viable for several decades!

Sorrel will thrive practically anywhere the soil isn't completely parched, and you can even grow it in a pot on your windowsill.

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