Here you will be told about such a wonderful green culture as sorrel. You will familiarize yourself with many interesting facts and be able to conclude - is it really so useful or is there harm? Sorrel is a perennial herb belonging to the Buckwheat family. Its small flowers are collected in a narrow panicle in the upper part of the plant, and the fruits are 3-sided dark brown nuts. The lower leaves of the sorrel are ovoid-oblong, somewhat fleshy, arrow-shaped or spear-shaped at the base, on long petioles. The homeland of this herb is Western Europe. Although this green culture has been known since antiquity, the French began to use it only in the XIV century.
Interesting Facts:
- In Latin, sorrel is called "Rumex", which translates as "spear".
- In our country, this grass has long been considered a weed, laughing at the French, Germans, Greeks, Dutch, Bulgarians who ate the "green grass". However, they soon fell in love with sorrel and were sure to include it in many dishes.
- Among the people, he received rather strange names - "meadow apple", "wild beet". By the way, in Ancient Russia, "wild beets" were even recognized as sacred and used as amulets.
Sorrel composition: vitamins and calories
Fresh leaves contain a significant amount of carotene, ascorbic acid, B vitamins, tannins, potassium, calcium, magnesium. And in the roots of sorrel there is a lot of iron, so decoctions from them are widely used in folk medicine.
Calorie sorrel
per 100 g of product is 19 kcal:
- Proteins - 1.5 g
- Fat - 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates - 2.9 g
Useful properties of sorrel
This herb is a good blood-purifying, analgesic, hemostatic agent, despite the fact that it is almost never used in scientific medicine.
It is known that this culture was recommended by Avicenna to eliminate the manifestations of menopause. And Galen and Dioscorides advised the use of sorrel for dysentery, indigestion and as a hemostatic agent for various bleeding. During the Middle Ages, it was believed that "table grass" can even protect from the plague. Now it is used for rinsing for loose and bleeding gums, colds. "Green grass" is an excellent remedy for the treatment of inflammatory diseases of the bladder. To do this, you must regularly take baths with a decoction of sorrel roots and leaves. A decoction of the leaves has been known since ancient times as an antidote.
The use of this culture activates the activity of the liver and intestines. It is used for infertility, in the treatment of tuberculosis, rheumatism. Fresh juice from this culture will help with headaches, and a decoction of the roots is used to treat coughs, irritation of the throat, larynx, and a runny nose.
It can be used for anal fissures, hemorrhoids, enterocolitis, colitis, as well as for back pain.
Useful properties have proven themselves very well in cooking. The most popular dish is green cabbage soup. However, sorrel is often added to salads, hot dishes, pastries, and sauces. It goes well with cilantro, black pepper, spinach, zest, fennel, young nettles, leeks (read about the properties of leeks) and onions, shallots and chives, lemon balm, mint, dill and parsley …
Sorrel harm and contraindications
Sorrel is contraindicated for people suffering from gout, kidney stones, gastritis with high acidity, stomach and duodenal ulcers, and inflammatory kidney diseases. It is also not recommended for use during pregnancy.
When using it for food it is undesirable to take leaves from old plants - Sorrel leaves of the first year will be more useful.
It is impossible to use this "herb" in large quantities and for a long time. This is due to the high content of oxalic acid, which can cause impairment of some kidney functions and the metabolism of minerals in the body.
It is best eaten freshly harvested, since heat treatment (for example, adding sorrel to a boiling broth) produces inorganic oxalic acid, which, according to nutritionists, can accumulate in the body and form kidney stones. Hence the conclusion - fresh sorrel will be much healthier than boiled one.
Another thing I would like to note about oxalic acid is that it is least of all contained in young shoots. Therefore, take a note - it is better to eat sorrel only until July and only the top leaves of the plant.
Video: the benefits of sorrel
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