The sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is a plant that can spread widely under suitable site conditions. However, combating the lawn can result in a harvest for the kitchen.
Can you eat sorrel and how to prepare it?
Sorrel can be eaten raw or cooked. Young, juicy leaves are rich in vitamin C and other nutrients. However, due to the oxalic acid it contains, you should observe quantity restrictions and avoid possible contamination (e.g. fox tapeworm eggs) by washing or cooking thoroughly.
Eat sorrel raw or not?
Basically, you can also eat the young and juicy leaves of the sorrel raw, as the plant is not really poisonous when consumed in normal quantities, despite its special ingredients. After all, the leaves of the sorrel contain a lot of vitamin C and other valuable ingredients. However, certain quantities should not be exceeded when consumed due to the oxalic acid it contains. If you harvest sorrel near the edges of forests, you should not only pay attention to possible fertilization of the meadows with manure, but also to potential contamination with fox tapeworm eggs. Unless you harvest the sorrel leaves from your own fenced-in property, you should either wash the leaves extremely thoroughly or even cook them before eating them.
Harvesting the sorrel at the right time
The flowers of the sorrel change color from green to red during the flowering period from May to July. At the same time, some of the leaves begin to turn reddish. This fact is also an indication of an increasing oxalic acid content in the plants. Therefore, you should only harvest the young and fresh green leaves of the sorrel in spring if possible and, if necessary, extend the season by freezing or pickling them.
Create delicious dishes with sorrel
You can usually eat safe sorrel from unpolluted meadows or from your own garden meadow raw, for example as a spicy salad ingredient. You can also use it to cook other tasty recipes with a pleasant level of acidity. These include classics like:
- Frankfurt Green Sauce
- Salad refined with sorrel
- Herb quark
- Sorrel soup
- Pickled sorrel
Tips & Tricks
Be careful never to cook dishes containing sorrel in an iron or aluminum pot. Otherwise they tend to develop a metallic taste. In addition, the leaf stalks usually contain more acid than the green leaves of the plant.
