SORREL

Warning: Consuming large amounts of sorrel can cause an upset stomach. Consuming excessively large amounts can lead to the formation of kidney stones due to the presence of oxalic acids. For perspective, common spinach is considered similar in this regard.


While taking a morning tea break at work I found myself sitting amongst a variety of different plants. Among them was one species I immediately recognised.
One of my work mates spoke up and said “Look, it’s spinach”.
I was quick to reply “Nope, it’s sorrel and it can be used to make cheese”.
I was returned a blank look and nothing else was said about the subject. Blank stares are something I get quite often.

There are several varieties of sorrel. The two major varieties are Rumex acetosa (green) and Rumex acetosella (green with red stems).

Sorrel in general has an ancient history. It has been cultivated throughout the world for millennia as it is nutritious edible plant with high fibre content and numerous vitamins. Throughout human history It has been used to make soups and salads. The green species of sorrel is most popular for eating in salads while the red species is used for more medicinal species but can also be consumed in soups. From where I was sitting I could clearly identify both varieties. Although eating sorrel is relatively well known what may not be so well known is that both varieties can also be juiced to make rennet for processing cheese. Here’s an interesting fact, did you know that traditional rennet is collected from the stomachs of ruminant animals (cows, sheep, goats, giraffes etc... A special component in the rennet called Chymosin is a protease enzyme that curdles the casein in milk allowing people to make cheese. Being the mega fan of cheese that I am I found this to be extremely interesting. I also find it interesting that people who claim they are vegetarian probably don’t realise that animals had to be slaughtered in order to collect the rennet from their stomachs which in fact contradicts the entire nature of being a vegetarian. However I have found the solution to their woes and whey's (yep, a cheese joke). Sorrel is a good plant based alternative to making cheese. No animals need to be harmed or outright mutilated to retrieve it. The juice is simply added as a rennet substitute. The overall cheese making process takes a little longer than traditional animal rennet (usually over night) but it still does the job, especially if your aiming to make cottage cheese.

The process is simple and is stepped out below.

1 - Pick Leaves. The younger leaves are considered better for outright eating as the older leaves are bitter in taste but for the making of rennet either will do the trick.

2 - process the leaves through a juicer.

3 - 5 teaspoons of juice can be mixed with one litre of milk.

4 - Leave the milk/rennet mixture in a warm place for it to curdle over night.

5 - the next day strain the mixture through a muslin cloth to separate the curds (solids) and whey's (liquid). The whey can be kept for other purposes. It makes a good soup base by simply substituting a portion of the stock or water. The whey can also be used to soften the dough used to make pizza.

6 - The curds (solids) can be placed in a separate container, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste and placed in the fridge to set.


Sorrel is an amazing plant that could be easily over looked as a weed. Like nearly all “weeds” it has more value than most people would care to know. It’s interesting that these so called weeds will grow just about anywhere that enough water can be obtained with little to no care. On the other hand billions of dollars are spent each year trying to keep monoculture crops from failing and yet these “weed” plants succeed seemingly effortlessly and have numerous uses. Perhaps the future of sustainability will call on the use of such plants in order to help reduce the environmental impacts humans are having globally. The first step to this future is simply knowing that sorrel exists and has fantastic uses. The next step is sharing that knowledge by passing it down as was done for centuries before us. In having said that please feel free to share this article!


Cheers!


Reference Links.

https://www.farmersdaughterherbs.com/sorrel

https://monicawilde.com/wild-vegetable-rennet/

https://www.verywellfit.com/sorrel-benefits-side-effects-and-preparations-4211503