Sorrel. Useful and medicinal properties. Contraindications. Horse sorrel: use in traditional medicine. Horse sorrel: benefits and contraindications

I will try to tell you everything I know about growing sorrel in the garden, its beneficial properties, and also share some recipes for dishes from it. Man began to grow sorrel in the Middle Ages. The first mention of it is found in the French chronicle of the XII century. By the way, the French still believe that they have two national vegetables - carrots and sorrel. In Russia until the 16th century, it was considered a weed. It was not grown in gardens. There is horse sorrel. There is a wild one. There is a varietal, which we grow on our plots, vegetable gardens. Let's find out about its benefits, features. It doesn't need any special advertising.

Sorrel photo:

Sorrel in my garden grows like a wild plant

Useful properties of sorrel

Sorrel is just an acidic herb that we eat from childhood to old age. We all chewed tender leaves by children, we didn’t even frown, because young ones do not contain much oxalic acid. It is especially useful until the hot summer comes, because then the leaves will become coarser, more sour. The older the leaves, the more acid they contain.

Sorrel, which is known to many, is perennial buckwheat family. In old books there is another name for it - wild beet or meadow apple. It is believed that the birthplace of sorrel is Europe and Asia. But now it is distributed on almost all continents. There are about two hundred species. The Indians of North America treated them with all the diseases that they only had, even venereal ones, however, there is no evidence whether they were cured or not.

I met information that our compatriots living, for example, in England, accustomed to green borscht from childhood, cannot buy sorrel in any store. They even secretly bring seeds from their native places. They grow this unpretentious culture themselves on poor English lands.

Now known as useful as harmful properties sorrel.

Since time immemorial, this plant has been used as a medicinal plant. For diabetics, it will help increase the action of insulin and keep blood sugar levels normal. Suffering from cardiovascular diseases, it will strengthen the blood vessels. Sorrel was used earlier as a hemostatic agent (it contains vitamin K, which promotes blood clotting). Applied as disinfectant(the juice was treated with wounds). And, of course, sorrel is a great source of vitamins and nutrients.

Sorrel is very useful for anemia, as it contains a lot of iron.

Our ancestors knew for sure that if they ate something wrong, they should chew 2-3 sour leaves - it will feel better, because they contain a lot of fiber, which removes toxins.

Its leaves and stems are capable of accumulating nitrates, so if you collect wild sorrel in grasslands, try to do it away from roads or railways.

Gardeners, on the other hand, prefer to use only sorrel grown on their site, especially since this culture is completely unpretentious.

Growing sorrel from seeds in open ground

Sorrel grows well in partial shade, tolerates frost well. It can be sown three times in one season. In the spring, as soon as the soil allows you to enter the beds, in June and late autumn, just before the frost.

Before sowing, we dig the soil well, as it is a perennial crop - it will have to grow in this place for 3-4 years. For digging, we add half a bucket of humus, 1 tablespoon of nitrophoska and 1 teaspoon of urea per square meter.

Seeds do not need to be buried when sowing, otherwise the harvest may not wait. Therefore, we make the grooves small, about 1 cm deep. Lightly sprinkle the seeds with earth and lightly compact from above, you can “tread down” with a chopper or scoop.

If we carry out sowing, then the bed can be covered with a film, then shoots will appear much earlier. After germination, it is desirable to thin out, because we usually sow the seeds in a continuous sowing. And with thickened sowing, the leaves will be small, stretching upwards. When thinning, leave one plant at a distance of 5-7 cm from another.

Sorrel care is not difficult. All that is needed for its growth is fertile soil, timely watering and removal of weeds between the rows so that they do not fall on our table along with green leaves.

To whom sorrel is harmful

There are some negative points for our health in the properties of sorrel - this is the presence of oxalates - salts that can contribute to the formation of sand and kidney stones. By the way, if you have any health problems, experts advise using it only fresh. Since during heat treatment it releases salts of oxalic acid, which settles in the body. Therefore, as mentioned above, for those who have diseased kidneys or joints, it is better not to use green sorrel borscht. Caution must be those who have violations of the work gastrointestinal tract, for example, hyperacidity or stomach ulcers, gastritis.

You can use fresh sorrel for food at all times of the year. You can even plant a 2-3-year-old bush in a flower pot for the winter and put it on the windowsill. Let it grow in the house until spring, there will be something to chew on ...

What can be cooked from sorrel

Sorrel cold soup: recipe with photo

The proportions of sorrel, water - by eye. It all depends on the number of eaters. Approximately two or three medium bunches of oxal leaves per 1.5-2 liters of water. 1 hard-boiled egg per serving (for 1 bowl of soup). That is, if you cook soup for three, then there should be three eggs.

You can cut the leaves or put them whole in boiling water if they are small. Boil for 1-2 minutes until color changes. Then cool the broth. It can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.

Now that the broth has been cooled to room temperature, we will run it. I usually make this soup right before serving. Sometimes I don’t put the dressing in a common pan, but in everyone’s plate.

finely chop green onion, dill.
Add herbs to the sorrel decoction.
Chop the hard-boiled eggs, add there too.
Season the soup with sour cream, salt to taste and mix well.

In our family, we serve such a cold sorrel soup with cold boiled potatoes in their skins. Soup in a bite with potatoes instead of bread. Very tasty light meal!

Enjoy your meal!

Sorrel for the winter

To obtain 4 half-liter jars of blanks, you will need 0.5 kg of leaves and 1.5-2 liters of water.

Sort the leaves carefully, remove damaged or accidentally fallen weed leaves, rinse under running water cold water to wash off the earth or sand.

The leaves can be cut into pieces of 2-3 cm, or you can leave them whole if they are small. Dip the sorrel leaves in boiling water, stir, let the water boil and immediately remove from heat.

Now it remains for us to pour the resulting boiling mixture into pre-prepared sterile jars. The jars should be well warm so that the freshly boiling sorrel does not cause them to crack. I bake them in the oven at a temperature of 180 ° C for 5-10 minutes. Then I turn off the oven. They cool down to a temperature of 80-90°C. I check the temperature with a wet finger, like an iron. If it doesn't sizzle, then you can spill it.

I usually pour into half liter jars. It is more comfortable. One jar is enough to cook 2 liters of soup. We cover the filled jars with sterile metal lids and roll them up.

I put the jars upside down in a blanket, wrap them on all sides and keep them there until they cool - usually until the morning.

Such blanks are perfectly stored at home on the mezzanine.

And some more information about the beneficial properties of sorrel. Its leaves contain several types of acids - malic, citric, oxalic. It also contains provitamin A, vitamin B 9 ( folic acid), C, potassium, iron and other trace elements. This composition satisfies spring hunger not only in vitamins, but also ... in love, because it invigorates and tones the entire body.

Sorrel is one of the first leafy vegetables to appear on our table in spring. Young, tender, green leaves are pleasing to the eye, a sour taste gives freshness to dishes, and the first vitamins - all this makes sorrel a desirable product in our kitchen.

But in Russia sorrel for a long time considered a weed, it was not eaten. And they were very surprised when visiting foreigners plucked sorrel and ate it.

But in other countries it has been actively used, and since ancient times. Scientists of ancient Asia, Greece, Rome treated this plant with great respect. The French, for example, believe that they have two national vegetables - sorrel and carrots.

So why did sorrel deserve such respect, what vitamins the first spring greens are rich in, and what are the benefits of sorrel and is there any harm. Let's figure it out.

Sorrel - benefits and harms to the body

Useful properties of the first greens

• Sorrel ripens in early spring when our body, tired of the cold, acutely feels a lack of vitamin. Sorrel is a great helper for beriberi.
• Counts dietary product- in 100 gr. freshly picked leaves 21-22 kcal. The acids that make up sorrel break down fats and remove them from the body. Therefore, people who have weight problems are advised to include sorrel in their diet.
• According to the content of vitamin B1, sorrel ranks second after legumes, thanks to which sorrel has a positive effect on nervous system keeps the muscles in good shape.
• Sorrel increases the secretion of the stomach, pancreas, improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and is especially useful for people suffering from gastritis with low acidity.
• Beneficial effect on cardiovascular system Helps eliminate bad cholesterol.
• Thanks to high content vitamin C, the iron contained in the plant is very well absorbed, better than from any other plant. Therefore, sorrel is recommended for anemia.
• Promotes the formation of bile, stabilizes the liver.
• It has analgesic, hemostatic and anti-inflammatory properties.
• Useful for women's health, alleviating the condition during menopause.

If badan grows on your personal plot, then see the article. It is in the spring that bergenia leaves are harvested from which they make a healthy tea.

Sorrel in folk medicine

AT traditional medicine sorrel is not used, but in traditional medicine the plant has been used quite widely, and since ancient times. Sorrel was first used as remedy, and then began to be used in cooking. Both leaves and roots of the plant and even seeds are used.

• During the plague, sorrel was considered one of the the best means from this terrible disease.
• Sorrel seeds have been used as an antidote for snake and insect bites.
• It is believed that the seeds and root act as a fixing agent, while the leaves, on the contrary, can be used as a mild laxative.
• A decoction of sorrel is used to rinse with bleeding gums. To prepare a decoction, you need 1 tbsp. l. crushed sorrel leaves pour 0.5 liters. water, put on fire, boil for half an hour, let it brew for 1 hour, filter and use for rinsing. This decoction is also good for colds, if you drink 1/3 cup up to 4 times a day.
• An infusion of roots and leaves is used as an anti-inflammatory and hemostatic agent.
• If you hold a crushed sorrel leaf in your mouth, then toothache can calm down.
• Also, crushed leaves can be applied to abrasions and wounds - it acts as a disinfectant, hemostatic agent.

Sorrel harm

• Unfortunately, oxalic acid, which we taste when we eat sorrel, leads to the formation of oxalates (salts of oxalic acid). Oxalates can form kidney and joint stones. Therefore, if there is such a problem - you have found oxalate stones - sorrel is contraindicated.
• Oxalic acid interferes with the absorption of calcium. This should be taken into account if calcium preparations are prescribed to you, as well as to pregnant women, since calcium is very important elements for the future baby.
• Sorrel should be used with caution in people with hyperacidity in the stomach, as sorrel can contribute to the formation of ulcers.

How to use sorrel

In the world flora, about two hundred species of sorrel are known, there are cultivars, there are wild ones. It is better to use cultivated varieties for food, their greens are more tender and richer in their useful qualities.

• Most correct option- this is sorrel in its raw form, since during heat treatment many vitamins lose their properties, but the concentration of oxalic acid does not decrease.
• To reduce the concentration of oxalic acid, you can use fermented milk products, so season soups and salads with sour cream, yogurt.
• If you decide to cook sorrel, for example, beloved by many sorrel soup, then remember that you can not cook sorrel dishes in aluminum and cast iron cookware.
• The younger the leaves, the lower their content of oxalic acid. If you grow sorrel yourself, then it is recommended to harvest until July.
• In order for sorrel to bring benefits, and not harm, it is necessary to observe the norm of its use. It is recommended to use it in food no more than 2 times a week. It is believed that 10 sorrel leaves completely replenish daily allowance vitamin C and A.
• Fresh sorrel can be stored for several days like flowers in a vase, but in the refrigerator. You can wash the leaves, dry them, put them in a paper bag or vacuum pack and store them in the refrigerator.
• Sorrel can be harvested for the winter - frozen, dried, canned.

Now you know about the benefits and harms of sorrel. Enjoy the first spring weed, but don't forget the pros and cons.

Cheers!

Elena Kasatova. See you by the fireplace.

Russian linguists believe that the word "sorrel" goes back to the Old Slavonic ščav, consonant with the concept of "shchi", because juicy sour grass is an indispensable component of this old stew. In everyday life, this plant is often called "sour", "sour", "sour", "sour" and other consonant words indicating its original sour taste.

Sorrel: what is it

One and a half hundred species of such a plant are found on all continents. Most of them are useless weeds. The leaves of sorrel (common) and horse sorrel are suitable for food.

It's not hard to find them... herbaceous plant with an elongated stem. At first, only a rosette of leaves collected at the root appears. Later flower shoots are released. The leaves are shaped like a spear blade. And if in an ordinary sorrel they are the size of a palm, then in a horse they are 3-4 times larger

Color: from pale green to deep emerald, and the horse also has reddish streaks.

popular in recent times became a breeding (artificially bred) variety - spinach.

Juicy greens with sourness in cooking

Common sorrel is cultivated for garden cultivation, while horse sorrel is not so popular - most often it is harvested in a meadow, forest glades, and edges. The first one is bright sour taste, in the second, the sourness is not felt so bright, there is a slight bitterness.

Combine ordinary sorrel with horse sorrel in dishes: each of them will bring its own flavor to the culinary work.

horse sorrel in fresh rarely eaten - it is bitter. But dried to taste is simply incomparable.

In Armenia, for example, aveluk (horse sorrel) is harvested in a special way- weave fresh leaves in braids, leaving them to dry on fresh air. Fermentation occurs, due to which the bitterness goes away, and original taste remains.

Aveluk is then soaked in several waters and used for salads, first and second courses.

Sorrel leaves give a recognizable flavor to botvinia, vegetable snacks. it delicious stuffing for pies, pies. Baked fish is especially good with this herb. The acid of the plant is similar in its action to citric acid - it makes meat or fish softer, more tender.

The most useful, tasty, juicy leaves of a young plant that has not yet released arrows. In aging leaves, acidity rapidly increases, they themselves are more rigid.

If you are still preparing a dish from old leaves, add 1 g of crushed school chalk (only white!) Per kilogram of leaves when cooking: oxalic acid will react with chalk and precipitate.

Composition Secrets

Thanks to useful components sorrel occupies a worthy place among medicinal plants. Its leaves contain vitamins A, B, C, K, PP, E. It is rich in sugar, proteins, starch, carotene, resin, fiber and tannins.

The plant can “boast” of a large assortment of microelements necessary for human health:

• potassium;
• calcium;
• iron;
• copper;
• manganese;
• molybdenum;
• magnesium;
• sodium;
• boron;
• titanium;
• nickel;
• phosphorus;
• fluorine;
• zinc.

It also abounds in organic acids, including pyrogallic, coffee, gallic, tartaric, malic, citric, and oxalic acids.

The benefits of sorrel for the human body

Due to the impressive amount of vitamins sorrel is effective in the fight against beriberi. Entering it into diet, can improve the functioning of the liver and gallbladder. At experimental studies it was found that the plant has antibacterial and antitumor activity. The sap of the plant is often used for medicinal purposes.

Sorrel has long been in demand for diseases such as:

• scurvy;
• allergy accompanied by skin itching;
• angina;
• dysentery;
• hemoptysis;
• inflammation of the gums;
• scabies;
• lichen.

Who is harmful to use sorrel?

The danger of oxalic acid is that it affects the process salt metabolism in the body, causing a decrease in blood clotting, stimulating the central nervous system and blocking the urination channels.

This is fraught with the occurrence of dangerous nephritis, urinary retention, uremia. Therefore, sorrel in any form is absolutely unacceptable for people with a tendency to urolithiasis and cholelithiasis. Patients with an imbalance of salt metabolism in the body should also forget about it.

Horse sorrel: benefits and contraindications

All components are suitable as healing raw materials: from the root to the seeds.. They contain different proportions organic acids, tannins, essential oil, resins, vitamins, trace elements.

Sorrel infusions, decoctions, powders, ointments have the following actions:

• astringent;
• antihelminthic;
• hemostatic;
• wound healing bactericidal;
• antiscorbutic.

These funds are both effective as laxatives and fixatives (depending on the dosage).

• anemia;
• gallbladder;
• colitis.

Eating a plant despite all its healing properties should not be consumed excessively and daily. It promotes the leaching of calcium from the body, which can lead to osteoporosis, and the formation of kidney stones in people with a tendency to cholelithiasis.

Attention!

Women in demolition should not get carried away with sorrel.

In cooking only young (spring) leaves of horse sorrel are used: they are pleasant with their sourness and slight bitterness. As the plants mature, these taste qualities become too sharp, even repulsive taste.

• Among one and a half hundred species of sorrel, only 2 are named according to the country of growth: Russia (Rūmex rōssicus) and Ukraine (Rumex ucranicus).
• Sorrel soup is mentioned in the holy calendar, where there is a day of Moors-green cabbage soup (May 16). Just by this time, the first leaves were growing, and cabbage soup began to be prepared in the summer way: not from sour cabbage, but from a fresh vitamin product.
• On the territory of the Russian Federation, this plant is found even in Siberia (Yakutia).
• There are thickets of a half-meter plant with an area of ​​​​3-5 hectares.

Useful video

The special properties of horse sorrel are interestingly described in this video:

Horse sorrel or dense sorrel is a very popular plant. It can be found on the banks of rivers, in the forest and on the slopes of hills. And many housewives specially plant it in their dachas, because the beneficial properties of sorrel have been proven for a long time, and if there is an opportunity to include it in your diet treatment plant, then it must be done.

Surprisingly, absolutely all parts of this plant are useful: even the seeds and root of horse sorrel have healing properties. They contain:

• essential oils,
• vitamins,
• trace elements,
• organic acids
• resin,
• binders,
• glycosides.

Let us consider in more detail the beneficial properties of sorrel and contraindications to its use in food.

What are the health benefits of sorrel?

Horse sorrel is very useful for the stomach and intestines. If you need to cleanse your stomach and get rid of constipation, then sorrel leaves are recommended. It is they who weaken well and quickly remove waste products. Sorrel also stops any decay processes in the stomach, acting as a natural antiseptic.

Horse sorrel seeds have unique medicinal properties: they, unlike leaves, strengthen the stomach. Therefore, a decoction of sorrel seeds is prescribed for diarrhea caused by food poisoning or taking antibiotics.

A decoction of horse sorrel leaves is prescribed for diseases of the teeth and gums. If you have a toothache in the evening, and you can’t get an appointment with the dentist until the morning, try rinsing your mouth with a decoction of the leaves of the plant. One of the medicinal properties of horse sorrel is that it soothes pain and relieves inflammation.

Also, a decoction of horse sorrel is recommended to drink with bleeding gums. The plant helps to stop bleeding and accelerates the healing process of microcracks and wounds on the gums and inner sides cheeks Sorrel is wonderful prophylactic from scurvy.

Sorrel is good for immunity. After all, it has a general strengthening effect on the body and helps fight colds and viral diseases. After all, in this simple plant contained great amount vitamins needed for normal operation organism. If you want to live the winter without colds and flu, eat fresh sorrel in the summer, and drink decoctions from dried leaves. After all The best way to survive the winter without diseases - to take care of their prevention in the summer.

Horse sorrel also has healing properties on the liver and heart. It strengthens the heart muscle, normalizes the rhythm, restores the elasticity of blood vessels and helps to lower blood pressure.

Sorrel, like oatmeal, cleanses the liver well. Do not forget that it is in the liver, as in a filter, that most of toxins and harmful substances ingested with food and air. Not always the liver can cleanse itself. To help her, you need to eat regularly. oatmeal and, if possible, sorrel. Sorrel promotes the removal of harmful substances and decay products from the body.

If you have sorrel in your diet, then you can not worry about the condition of the skin. Due to the fact that it cleanses the body from the inside, the condition also improves. skin: acne, black spots, pigmentation, redness disappear. The pores are tightened and the skin becomes smooth and radiant. All these miracles are created by sorrel, which grows in almost every dacha.

Also sorrel removes well headache and helps to cope with stress. To calm down and take off nervous tension, it is recommended to drink a decoction of horse sorrel.

Horse sorrel for weight loss

Beyond the amazing therapeutic effect, which sorrel has on the body, it also promotes weight loss. After all, it improves digestion and accelerates elimination from the body. excess water and waste products. Sorrel is also useful because it improves metabolic processes which also contributes to weight loss.

Sorrel has a low calorie content, but at the same time it is very rich in vitamins. Therefore, it is especially recommended to eat it during a diet: you do not get better, but you do not experience a deficiency of vitamins necessary for health. If you eat sorrel regularly, then very soon you will forget what bloating and heaviness in the stomach are.

The harm of horse sorrel for the body

Despite all medicinal properties, sorrel can bring the body not only benefits, but also harm. It, like any other product, should be consumed in moderation. Because if there is sorrel in large quantities, there are problems with the stomach. After all, sorrel contains acid, which can provoke not only heartburn, but also ulcers and gastritis.

Sorrel is contraindicated in people with disabilities water-salt metabolism, as well as with kidney failure. If there is too much sorrel, then kidney stones can form. This plant in any form is prohibited for people with rheumatism and arthritis - sorrel can provoke an exacerbation of the disease. Eat sorrel in reasonable amounts and be sure to wash before eating! And then this plant will only benefit your body, strengthening the immune system.

Thanks to its useful properties. It contains a large number of important for us ascorbic acid, vitamins B, K, it contains carotene, essential oils.

Many organic acids are present in this medicinal herb, for example, oxalic, pyrogallic and some others. And also there are some minerals, for example, iron, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium. FROM therapeutic purpose and all parts of this plant are used as preventive measures.

The use of sorrel and its healing properties

This herb is used in the treatment of certain diseases, for example, it is used for anemia, beriberi, scurvy. Thanks to a large number Ascorbic acid is absorbed iron, respectively, increases the level of hemoglobin. AT large doses sorrel can have a laxative effect on the body, and in small ones, on the contrary, it will fix the stool.

It is useful to eat it with gastritis with low acidity, because it contributes to the active production gastric juice which greatly improves the digestion process. Sorrel renders and choleretic action. In folk medicine, an infusion is prepared from it, which is used as an anti-inflammatory agent, as well as a hemostatic agent.

Sorrel leaves have an astringent, analgesic, wound healing, antiscorbutic, anti-inflammatory and antitoxic effect on the body. The decoction enhances the formation of bile, it is recommended to prescribe for bleeding, with various rashes and unbearable skin itching.

Sorrel improves bowel activity. A decoction is used as an antidote for poisoning, for pain in the lumbar region and for rheumatism. It is shown to eat this plant with colitis, enterocolitis, with hemorrhoids, with anal fissures.

Sorrel is considered one of the best remedies that is used for menopause. Avicenna also said that this herb can alleviate hormonal changes organism, it is recommended to use it daily in a small amount, a few leaves will suffice.

Sorrel treatment, I will give some recipes

Can cook healing infusion from the leaves and roots of sorrel, which is recommended for rinsing the mouth, it will strengthen the gums and remove inflammatory process, due to the presence of tannins, ascorbic acid and calcium.

For rheumatism and painful sensations in the lower back, you can use this recipe. You will need a tablespoon fresh roots, which are first recommended to be crushed, and then they need to be poured with 300 milliliters of water, after which it is necessary to boil this drug for fifteen minutes in a water bath, then you need to insist and strain the broth. Take it should be thirty grams.

With cystitis, you can take baths with a decoction made from sorrel. To do this, you need to take five hundred grams of leaves and pour them with a liter of water, then it is boiled in a water bath for no longer than ten minutes and added to a bath of water.

With diarrhea, you can use this recipe. You will need two tablespoons of pre-crushed sorrel roots, which are recommended to pour 300 milliliters hot water. Then you need to put the container on water bath for thirty minutes, then cool it, strain through a sieve with a fine nozzle, and can be consumed three times a day half an hour before meals.

The use of sorrel in cooking

In cooking, sorrel is used to cook the most different dishes, for example, the French grow about fifty varieties of this plant, and use it in cooking different sauces, warm salads and so on. In England it is stewed and fried. In Italy, it is often added to pasta. AT Central Asia it is used in bread baking to give some sourness and pleasant aroma bread.

In our country, sorrel is also loved by many, it is eaten fresh and pickled, used canned and dried. Soups, various tasty sauces and salads are prepared from it, and used as a filling for baking.

Certainly the most popular in our country culinary dish from sorrel are green cabbage soup, which is eaten in early spring from fresh grass with sour cream and boiled chicken egg. But it is worth learning that after the heat treatment many useful properties are lost.

Therefore, it is useful to eat young fresh sorrel, which can be mixed with other vegetables, such as spinach and arugula, and fill such a salad. olive oil and a couple of drops of lemon juice.

Contraindications to the use of sorrel

It is worth knowing that, despite the useful properties of this healing herb, its frequent use can cause the formation of kidney stones. Sorrel is not recommended to eat in violation of salt metabolism, with intestinal diseases inflammatory nature.

It is contraindicated for use during pregnancy hyperacid gastritis, with gastric ulcer. With excessive eating of sorrel, the absorption of such a trace element as calcium is difficult, which can lead to the development of osteoporosis.

Conclusion

Of course, sorrel has useful properties, and it is recommended to introduce it into the diet, it is especially good to use it in early spring, when the body needs vitamins and minerals after a long winter period.