Sorrel

Common sorrel or garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa), often simply called sorrel, is a perennial herb in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock.

Sorrel is a bright leafy herb with a distinctively tart, almost lemony flavor. Find yummy ways to use it here.

Once a common ingredient in soups, stews, salads and sauces, sorrel vanished from use for hundreds of years. Now this delightful, leafy green is finding its way back into gardens and kitchens, where its tantalizing flavor and good nutrition can be enjoyed each spring.

The health benefits of sorrel include its ability to improve eyesight, slow the aging process, reduce skin infections, strengthen the immune system, and improve digestion.

Lemons and other citrus fruits aren’t the only things that have a tart, acidic flavor — in fact, there’s a green herb that does and it’s got a lot of punch for such a small, frilly thing.

Everything you've ever wondered about sorrel, explained

If you don't have dried sorrel, opt for using a ruby-hued herbal tea, such as Celestial Seasonings' Red Zinger, which features dried hibiscus flowers.

Providing botanical, folk-lore and herbal information, plus organic herbs, and herbal products.

Produces some of the earliest greens of spring and the latest of fall.

Information about French Sorrel including applications, recipes, nutritional value, taste, seasons, availability, storage, restaurants, cooking, geography and history.

NatureGate

We’ve been loving or loathing sorrel in England for hundreds of years. Before citrus was readily available it was a handy way to add an acidic flavour to foods. That acidity – thanks to the oxalic acid in sorrel – isn’t to everyone’s taste. But used judiciously, it’s a boon in the kitchen. It’s also simple to grow and since it’s a perennial, it conveniently pops up year after year. Here at home, we like sorrel in soups or cream sauces or paired with fatty fish like salmon.