Tuesday 26 July 2011

Sorrel - unapologetically

There's one herb in particular that has been thriving in my new herb bed - Sorrel (French or Garden)



It's like a large dock leaf but has a fantastic sharp lemon flavour.


Also thriving is its little sister Buckler Sorrel


"Buckler" comes from the shield shape of the leaves which are a fraction of the size of French /Garden Sorrel.  This is the sorrel to add raw to salads whereas the larger variety is best cooked as a soup or sauce. If like me you like a bit of acidity to offset fatty meat, gravy, or bland foods like potato then sorrel is for you. Sorrel is packed with vitamin C, but most books do carry a warning that you can overdose on oxalic acid which can lead to kidney stones - so don't go too overboard about it.




If I had to choose I'd have to admit to having a soft spot for the less extreme Buckler Sorrel. It's beautiful and tasty! 

6 comments:

  1. We have a type of sorrel plant that looks more like buckler, it grows wild around here. As kids, we used to pick the leaves and nibble on them. Called them "sour fishies".

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's interesting PB, I had been going to mention that my MIL remembered a similar experience (in the north of Scotland) calling it "sour eggs" or "sour riggs".

    I also forgot to mention that the liquid extract can be used to remove stains from linen or instead of rennet in cheesemaking! But you should not use an iron pan as it turns the mixture black!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mal I recently sowed some sorrel seeds with no idea really as to what they were! Thanks for this... just one question, how much sorrel would be "going overboard"?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I hope it isn't as invasive as docks. Something I've never tasted!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ali, I guess that would be about the equivalent of eating three bananas a day.

    Sue, I've never tasted docks either!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've never grown sorrel...maybe a newbie for next year?!?!

    ReplyDelete