Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Herb guide to Sorrel along with all the Sorrel containing recipes presented on this site, with 50 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Sorrel as a major herb flavouring.

Sorrel, Rumex spp (also known as French sorrel, Sour Dock, Spinach Dock, and Sour Grass (Rumes scutatus) and Common sorrel, Broad-leaved Sorrel or Garden Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)) are evergreen perennial herbaceous plants of the Polygonaceae (buckwheat) family that are grown as an herb or potherb.

Sorrels are slender, deep-rooted, plants, growing up to 60cm high that have juicy stems and oblong leaves. The lower leaves are larger (7 to 15cm in length) are arrow-shaped at the base and have long petioles. The upper leaves are sessile and are frequently crimson-tinged. The plant bears whorled spikes of reddish-green flowers, which bloom in summer, becoming purplish. The stamens and pistils are on different plants (dioecious); the ripe seeds are brown and shining.

Sorrel has been cultivated for centuries and common sorrel is found in the cuisines of Europe and West Africa. The leaves can be used raw in salads, or cooked (and typically pureed) for addition to to sauces and soups). The plant's leaves have a distinctive sharp taste due to the presence of oxalic acid (this is why they are substituted for lemons in some recipes). However, it should be noted that oxalic acid is poisonous and should be avoided by anyone with gout. However, for most people consuming a small amount of sorrel is harmless.

Culinarily, Rumex scutatus (French sorrel) is the most desirable and is a common ingredient in French cuisine. Sorrel is also a feature of the cookery of the Hausa people of Nigeria. Sorrel is often described as a leafy vegetable rather than a herb. However, it tends to be used fairly sparingly as a flavouring. When it is included in larger quantities it is typically blanched, chopped and then added (which is how potherbs are used). Because of this, it is included here in this list of edible herbs.

Because of the mildly acidic taste, some say that it quenches thirst, and consider it helpful in boosting the appetite. The leaves may be added to salads to sharpen the taste. They are often puréed in soups and sauces and is the characteristic ingredient in shav.

The name sorrel derives from the Old French surele (sour) which itself derives from the Frankish root *sur (sour). The name denotes the sour taste of the plant's leaves.