Harvest Wood Sorrel

Wood sorrel, a common plant in both woodlands and yards, is readily available for harvesting. It has a sour taste and can be used in salads, sauces, or as an herb. Sorrel is identified by its five-petaled white or yellow flowers and heart-shaped leaves. Mature leaves, flowers, and seed pods are all edible. Sorrel is best eaten fresh, but what you harvest can be dried or frozen and stored for months.

Steps

Identifying Wood Sorrel

  1. Check shaded areas. Wood sorrel enjoys growing close to the ground. It springs up in woodlands and on shaded slopes. One type of wood sorrel is also considered a weed that grows commonly on lawns in eastern North America.[1]
  2. Look for white or yellow flowers. Sorrel is quickly recognizable by its small, bell-shaped flowers. The flowers cluster near to the ground and have five petals apiece. White and yellow are its common colors, although there are pink and violet variants.[2]
  3. Identify the heart-shaped leaves. When you are unsure, look at the leaves. Sorrel leaves grow in clusters of three. The leaves look heart-shaped with a fold down the center. The leaf veins branch off from the middle of the main vein, unlike in clover leaves, where many veins split off in parallel lines from each other.[3]

Cutting the Plant

  1. Pick the outer leaves. The outer leaves are mature. Leave behind the small leaves, which are near the stem. The leaves can simply be picked off by hand or cut using a knife.[4]
    • You can take some of the leaf cluster stems, but most of them will be too tough.
  2. Cut off maturing flowers. As spring progresses, the edible flowers will begin to bloom. Once they have grown, cut them off for use as a garnish. You may also cut them off before they blossom so that the plant's leaves grow quicker.[5]
  3. Collect seed pods. You’ll see tiny pods growing on separate stems underneath the leaves. They look green and resemble pea pods. When they are small and immature, they can also be cut off and eaten.[2]

Using and Storing Sorrel

  1. Rinse off the sorrel. Place what you’ve picked under cold, running water. Remove any rotten parts as you go. Set the sorrel aside and allow it to dry. When used immediately, sorrel will taste best, but you can keep sorrel for several days in a sealed plastic bag.[4]
  2. Bake leaves to dry them. Excess sorrel can be dried out and crumbled over food. Line the sorrel on a pan in the oven or in a dry area under sunlight. When using an oven, set the heat as low as possible. Once the sorrel is dried out, store it in a sealed jar.
  3. Blanche and freeze leftover leaves. Boil a pot of water. Drop the leaves in and leave them there for two minutes. Remove the leaves and immediately place them in a bowl of ice cold water. Drain off the moisture, seal the sorrel in a freezer container, and then store it in the freezer. It will last up to a year.[6]
    • The leaves can also be blended into a liquid and added to an ice cube tray. Freeze and then move the sorrel blocks to a freezer container.
    • Another way to do this is to steam the leaves, roll them up, then move them to a sealed container inside the freezer.
  4. Preserve leaves by pickling. Finely chop or blend leaves. Place the leaves in a jar and mix them with vinegar and sugar. You’ll have a green sauce that will last indefinitely when refrigerated.[4]
    • You can also keep the leaves whole and cover them in olive oil. Push down on the leaves in the jar to remove air. Store them in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.

Tips

  • Don’t strip the entire plant unless it’s on your property and you want to get rid of it. If you want to remove fast-growing sorrel, be sure to pull up the roots.
  • Removing flowers before they start blooming causes leaves to grow faster.

Warnings

  • Sorrel is high in oxalic acid and should not be eaten in large quantities. People with gout, rheumatism, or kidney stones should avoid it.

Things You’ll Need

  • Scissors or a sharp knife
  • A basket or storage container
  • Cold water
  • Refrigerator or freezer containers

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ https://altnature.com/gallery/woodsorrel.htm
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.wildedible.com/wild-food-guide/wood-sorrel
  3. ↑ http://northernwoodlands.org/knots_and_bolts/wood-sorrels
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 http://blog.brooklodge.com/wp-content/uploads/Wild-Foods-Sorrel.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/foraging-and-cooking-with-wild-sorrel-zbcz1308
  6. ↑ http://www.stilltasty.com/Fooditems/index/18339

You may like

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Harvest_Wood_Sorrel&oldid=264444"