When can I start picking sorrel?

From April onwards — sorrel is one of the first usable herbs each year, often producing leaves before frosts have stopped. Pick young leaves from the outside of the clump. By May the plant is in full production. Continuous picking through summer keeps it generating tender new growth. Stops cropping after first hard autumn frosts (late October–November).

Why is my sorrel bitter or tough?

Three causes. (1) Flowering: the plant has sent up flower stems and is no longer producing tender leaves — cut every flower stem off at the base as soon as it appears. (2) Drought: sorrel turns tough in dry spells — water weekly in summer. (3) Old leaves: pick only young leaves from the centre; outer older leaves get tough and high in oxalic acid. With weekly flower-stem removal and watering, a sorrel plant produces tender leaves from April to October.

Is sorrel safe to eat?

Yes, in moderation, for healthy adults. Sorrel contains oxalic acid (the source of its lemon-sour flavour), which inhibits calcium absorption and can contribute to kidney stones in susceptible people. Small culinary quantities (a handful of young leaves in soup or sauce) are traditional and fine for most adults. Avoid or use very sparingly if you have kidney issues, gout, a tendency to kidney stones, are pregnant, or feeding small children. Cooked sorrel retains the oxalic acid — cooking doesn't neutralise it.

Will sorrel survive a UK winter?

Yes — fully hardy (RHS H6). The foliage dies back to the crown after hard frosts and the plant returns from the rootstock each spring (March in mild years, April further north). Survives any UK winter without protection — sorrel is a tough native UK plant found wild in meadows. In a mild winter you may keep picking small leaves through to January.

What's the difference between common sorrel and French sorrel?

Common sorrel (Rumex acetosa): the UK native, large arrow-shaped leaves, sharp lemon flavour, vigorous 60 cm clump. The standard kitchen sorrel. French sorrel is a confusing name — usually means buckler-leaf sorrel (Rumex scutatus), a smaller (30 cm) species with shield-shaped leaves and milder flavour, used in classical French cooking. The Cookery sense of French sorrel is often just good sorrel cooked the French way, though, regardless of species. Either works for sorrel velouté.

How do I make sorrel sauce or soup?

Classic French sorrel velouté: sweat 4 large handfuls of young sorrel leaves in butter with a chopped shallot for 5 minutes (it'll wilt to almost nothing and turn olive-grey). Add 500 ml chicken or vegetable stock, simmer 10 minutes, blend smooth, stir in 100 ml double cream and a squeeze of lemon. Serve with poached or grilled white fish. The olive colour looks unappealing but the flavour is delicate, lemony, and unmistakable.

Sauerampfer

Rumex acetosa

Sow sorrel direct from March to May, or plant a young clump in spring, in sun or part shade — it's a hardy perennial leaf herb with a sharp lemony-sour flavour, from the wood-sorrel family (not citrus). Sorrel is very hardy (RHS H6) and crops from April right through to the first hard frosts. Cut flower stems off as soon as they appear — flowering stops leaf production and makes existing leaves tough. Pick young leaves continuously for fish sauces, soups (the classic French sorrel velouté), salads in small quantities, and an unmistakable lemony note in stir-fries. Eat in moderation: sorrel is high in oxalic acid (the source of the sour taste) which is best eaten with care if you have kidney issues or gout. Divide clumps every 4 years. Buckler-leaf sorrel (Rumex scutatus) is a smaller, milder species.

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