Sorrel
Greeen leaves with a sour and astringent taste used in small amounts to flavor sauces and soups.
he sorrel is a very hardy perennial herb that has been known since before 3000 B.C. Sorrel has long been used in making sauces and soups.
Sorrel still grows wild in Europe, Asia, and North America. It is found in meadows and grassy places, on the banks of rivers and streams. It grows very well in the garden and is easy to take to other fields.
Sorrel leaves are usually harvested in spring.
It should be consumed in moderation. Sorrel contains oxalic acid, which gives it its sour taste and can be toxic when consumed in large quantities. Agata Christie has used sorrel as a crime accessory in some of her novels.
How to identify sorrel
Sorrel is a vegetable with leafy and tender leaves, similar to those of spinach, although lighter green in color. It has a sour and astringent taste. It is used in small amounts, usually to flavor sauces.
There is more than one variety of sorrel, not all of them are cultivated. The most common in the kitchen is common sorrel, also known as cultivated sorrel or garden sorrel.
Use and storage
Fresh, smooth and brightly colored leaves should be chosen, discarding bruised leaves or those with slime.
It is mainly used as a seasoning for sauces for its special flavor, but several countries have recipes for sorrel soup.
The young shoots that grow under the mature leaves are used as salad leaves or as a vegetable, and are cooked in the same way as spinach.
The sorrel can be preserved, once washed, cut and cooked, packed in a wide-mouthed glass container protected by a layer of fat, lard or butter. It can also be packaged, once cooked, in glass jars that are sterilized in the usual way.
How to grow sorrel
Preparation and cooking
The thick stems should be removed and then the leaves and fine stems are washed in several waters, until no dirt remains. It should almost always be cut into thin strips or julienned.
Sorrel garnish
Sorrel cut into chiffonade and cooked in butter is used as a garnish in various dishes.
Ingredients
sorrel (well cleaned and cut into thin strips)
Butter
Instructions
Slowly cook the sorrel in butter until all the liquid it releases has evaporated.
Notes
To make a cream sorrel garnish, add a little liquid cream to the buttered sorrel once all the liquid has evaporated and let it simmer for a few more minutes.
Substitutions
If a recipe calls for sorrel and you don't have it on hand, 500g of fresh sorrel can be substituted with:
- The same amount of another variety of arugula.
- 500 g rocket, slightly more bitter and less acidic, with more nutty flavor
- 500 g of spinach + 15 ml of lemon juice.
30 g of fresh sorrel equals a little more than 1 cup, about 1 cup and 1/3.
(rumex acetosa)
Polygonaceae
Sorrel, spinach dock, curly or broadleaf dock, sour grass, sheep sorrel.
French: Oseille.
German: Sauerampfer.
Italian: Acetosa.
Spanish: Acedera, vinagrera.
Portuguese: Alazão.