I will try to tell everything I know about growing sorrel in the garden, its beneficial properties, and also share some recipes for dishes from it. Man began to grow sorrel in the Middle Ages. The first mention of it is found in the French chronicles of the XII century. By the way, the French still believe that they have two national vegetables - carrots and sorrel. In Russia, until the 16th century, it was considered a weed. He was not grown in the gardens. There is horse sorrel. There is a wild. There is a varietal, which we are growing in our plots, gardens. Let's find out about its benefits, features. Special advertising for him is not necessary.
Sorrel photo:
Useful properties of sorrel
Sorrel is just an acidic herb that we eat from childhood to old age. We all chewed the tender leaves with children, we didn’t even wrinkle, because they do not contain much oxalic acid in the young. It is especially useful until the hot summer has come, since then the leaves will become coarser, more acidic. The older the leaves, the more they contain acid.
Sorrel, which is known to many - is a perennial plant of the buckwheat family. In ancient books, there is another name for it - wild beets or meadow apples. It is believed that the birthplace of sorrel is Europe and Asia. But now it is distributed on almost all continents. It has about two hundred species. The Indians of North America treated them with all the diseases that they only had, even sexually transmitted diseases, although there is no evidence of whether they were cured or not.
I met information that our compatriots living, for example, in England, accustomed to green borsch from childhood, can not buy sorrel in any store. They even secretly bring seeds from their native places. They themselves cultivate this unpretentious culture in poor English lands.
Both beneficial and harmful properties of sorrel are now known.
Since time immemorial, this plant has been used as a medicinal. It will help diabetics strengthen the action of insulin and keep blood sugar levels normal. Suffering from cardiovascular diseases, it strengthens blood vessels. We used sorrel earlier as a hemostatic agent (there is vitamin K in the composition that promotes blood coagulation). Used as a disinfectant (juice treated wounds). And, of course, sorrel is a great source of vitamins and nutrients.
Sorrel is very useful for anemia, as it contains a lot of iron.
Our ancestors firmly knew that if they ate something wrong, it was necessary to chew 2-3 sour leaflets - it is easier, because they contain a lot of fiber, which removes toxins.
Its leaves and stems are able to accumulate nitrates, so if you collect wild sorrel in the meadows, try to do this away from roads or railways.
Gardeners prefer to eat only sorrel grown on their site, especially since this culture is very unpretentious.
Growing sorrel from seeds in the open ground
Sorrel grows well in partial shade, tolerates frosts. You can sow it three times in one season. In spring, as soon as the soil allows you to enter the beds, in June and late autumn, just before the frost.
We dig the soil well before sowing, as this is a long-term culture - it will have to grow 3-4 years in this place. For digging, we add half a bucket of humus, 1 tablespoon of nitrophoska and 1 teaspoon of urea per square meter.
When sowing seeds do not need to be buried, otherwise the crop can not wait. Therefore, we make small grooves, about 1 cm deep.Sprinkle the seeds lightly with the ground and lightly compact them from above, you can "trample" with a hoe or a scoop.
If sowing is carried out before winter, then the bed can be covered with a film, then seedlings will appear much earlier. After the emergence of seedlings, it is advisable to thin out, because usually we sow seeds with continuous sowing. And with thickened sowing, the leaves will be small, stretching up. When thinning, leave one plant from another at a distance of 5-7 cm.
Sorrel care is not difficult. All that is needed for its growth is fertile soil, timely watering and removal of weeds between the rows so that they do not get to our table with green leaves.
To whom sorrel is harmful
There are some negative aspects to our health in the properties of sorrel - the presence of oxalates - salts that can contribute to the formation of sand and kidney stones. By the way, if you have any health problems, experts advise you to use it only fresh. Since during heat treatment it releases salts of oxalic acid, which settles in the body.
Therefore, as mentioned above, for those with diseased kidneys or joints, it is better not to use green oxal borsch. Caution should be given to those who have disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, for example, high acidity or stomach ulcers, gastritis.
Fresh sorrel can be used for food at all times of the year. You can even plant a 2-3-year-old bush in a flower pot for the winter and put it on the windowsill. Let it grow in the house until spring, there will be something to chew ...
What can be cooked from sorrel
Sorrel cold soup: recipe with photo
Proportions of sorrel, water - by eye. It all depends on the number of eaters. About two to three medium bundles of sorrel leaves per 1.5-2 liters of water. 1 hard-boiled egg per serving (per 1 bowl of soup). That is, if you cook soup for three, then there should be three eggs.
Carefully sort the leaves, remove damaged or accidentally caught weed leaves, rinse under a stream of cold water to wash off the ground or sand.
You can cut the leaves or put in boiling water whole, if they are small. Boil for 1-2 minutes until color changes. Then cool the broth. It can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.
Now that the broth is cooled to room temperature, we will refuel it. I usually cook such a soup just before serving. Sometimes I put a dressing not in a common pot, but in a plate for everyone.
Finely chop green onion, dill.
Add greens to the sorrel broth.
Grind hard-boiled eggs, add to the same.
Season the soup with sour cream, salt to taste and mix well.
In our family we serve such a cold soup made of sorrel with cold boiled potatoes in their skins. Tasty soup with potatoes instead of bread. Very tasty light meal!
Bon Appetit!
Sorrel for the winter
To obtain 4-liter cans of blanks, 0.5 kg of leaves and 1.5-2 liters of water will be required.
Carefully sort the leaves, remove damaged or accidentally caught weed leaves, rinse under a stream of cold water to wash off the ground or sand.
Leaves can be cut into 2-3 cm slices, or if they are small, leave whole. Dip the sorrel leaves in boiling water, mix, let the water boil and immediately remove from heat.
Now we just have to pour the resulting boiling mixture into pre-prepared sterile jars. The jars should be well warm so that just boiling sorrel does not cause them to crack. I bake them in the oven at 180 ° C for 5-10 minutes. Then I turn off the oven. They cool down to a temperature of 80-90 ° C. I check the temperature with a wet finger, like an iron. If not hissing, then you can spill.
I usually pour in half-liter cans. This is more comfortable. One can is enough to boil 2 liters of soup. We cover the filled cans with sterile metal lids and roll up.
I put the cans upside down in a blanket, wrap them on all sides and keep them there until cool - usually until the morning.
Such blanks are perfectly stored at home on the mezzanine.
And a little more information about the beneficial properties of sorrel. Its leaves contain several types of acids - malic, citric, and oxalic. Also included is provitamin A, vitamin B9 (folic acid), C, potassium, iron and other trace elements. This composition satisfies spring hunger, not only in vitamins, but also ... in love, because it invigorates and tones the whole body.