"Narrow-leaved sorrel" and variants redirect here. These terms may also refer to curled
dock.
Common sorrel or garden sorrel, often simply called sorrel, is a perennial herb in the
family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock.
It is a common plant in grassland habitats and is cultivated as a garden herb or leaf
vegetable.
Description
Sorrel is a slender herbaceous perennial plant about 60 cm high, with roots that run deep
into the ground, as well as juicy stems and edible, arrow-shaped leaves. The lower leaves
are 7 to 15 cm in length with long petioles and a membranous ocrea formed of fused, sheathing
stipules. The upper ones are sessile, and frequently become crimson. It has whorled
spikes of reddish-green flowers, which bloom in early summer, becoming purplish. The species
is dioecious, with stamens and pistils on different plants.
The leaves are eaten by the larvae of several species of Lepidoptera including the blood-vein
moth.
Distribution Rumex acetosa occurs in grassland habitats
throughout Europe from the northern Mediterranean coast to the north of Scandinavia and in parts
of Central Asia. It occurs as an introduced species in parts of North America.[1]
Uses Common sorrel has been cultivated for centuries.
The leaves may be puréed in soups and sauces or added to salads; they have a flavour that
is similar to kiwifruit or sour wild strawberries. The plant's sharp taste is due to oxalic acid.
In northern Nigeria, sorrel is known as yakuwa or sure in Hausa or karassu in Kanuri. It
is also used in stews usually in addition to spinach. In some Hausa communities, it
is steamed and made into salad using kuli-kuli, salt, pepper, onion and tomatoes. The recipe
varies according to different levels of household income. A drink called solo is made from a
decoction of the plant calyx. In Romania, wild or garden sorrel, known as
măcriş or ştevie, is used to make sour soups, stewed with spinach, added fresh to
lettuce and spinach in salads or over open sandwiches.
In Russia and Ukraine it is called shchavel' and is used to make soup called green borscht.
It is used as a soup ingredient in other countries, too.
In Hungary the plant and its leaves are known as sóska. It is called kuzukulağı in Turkish.
In Polish it is called szczaw. In Croatia and Bulgaria is used for soups
or with mashed potatoes, or as part of a traditional dish containing eel and other green herbs.
In rural Greece it is used with spinach, leeks, and chard in spanakopita.
In the Flemish speaking part of Belgium it is called "zurkel" and preserved pureed sorrel
is mixed with mashed potatoes and eaten with sausages, meatballs or fried bacon, as a traditional
winter dish. In Vietnam it is called Rau Chua and is used
to added fresh to lettuce and in salads for Bánh Xēo.
In Portugal, it's called "azeda", and is usually chewed raw.
In India, the leaves are called chukkakura in Telugu and are used in making delicious
recipes. Chukkakura pappu soup made with yellow lentils which is also called toor dal in India.
In Albania it is called lëpjeta, the leaves are simmered and served cold marinated in
olive oil, it is used in soups, and even as an ingredient for filling byrek pies.
This name can be confused with the hibiscus calyces or Hibiscus Tea.
Subspecies Several subspecies have been named. Not all
are cultivated: Rumex acetosa ssp. acetosa
Rumex acetosa ssp. ambiguus Rumex acetosa ssp. arifolius
Rumex acetosa ssp. hibernicus Rumex acetosa ssp. hirtulus
Rumex acetosa ssp. vinealis See also
Oxalis Oxalis enneaphylla
Sorrel soup References