Red Veined Sorrel

I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t had sorrel before, because it’s not nearly as commonplace as many other greens.  If you lived in the European Middle Ages, though, this green herb would likely be used to add a sour yet tasty punch of flavor to your latest meal.

However, this was before Europe knew citrus fruit. Sadly, sorrel lost its culinary attraction to the lemon back then, but in recent years it has been making a culinary comeback.

Present day, not only is it added to salads, soups and sauces, but it’s also an essential ingredient in anticancer tonics like Essiac tea. Also impressive — sorrel is a nightshade vegetable commonly used as a natural herbal treatment for infections and inflammation of the sinuses and respiratory tract.

Sorrel is a perennial, edible herb from the same family as buckwheat and rhubarb. It’s often cultivated as a garden herb or leaf vegetable, but some varieties also grow wild.

This herb has a bright and tart flavor that adds an interesting and super healthy punch of flavor to any dish. It’s also available in supplement and tincture form for a variety of health ailments.

Sorrel is the name for a variety of hardy perennial herbs belonging to the Polygonaceae, or buckwheat, family that are widely distributed in temperate regions around the world. The leaves are the part of the plant typically eaten, and they look similar to spinach leaves. The raw leaves are described as having a flavor similar to lemon, kiwi or sour wild strawberries.