Every other Wednesday, we have a farmers market at our school that is organized by my friends and me. It has been a very rewarding thing to get involved with as I have formed relationships with the vendors and learned a lot about what they do and what they grow. Today, Perry of Two Guys From Woodbridge (to check it out, go to our market's website at www.wesleyan.edu/wsa/wfm) had a full variety of hydroponic greens. As I was milling about and deciding what to buy, I saw that one of them was described as tasting like kiwi. I asked him if it could possibly be true, and he had me try a leaf. Blown away, I of course had to buy some. It turns out it is called Sorrell and Perry told me it is excellent in soups. So far, I have just munched on the leaves and shocked a lot of friends with it, but eventually I will try something more ambitious. To start with, however, I have done some research on sorrell...here is what I found.
- It is a native plant of Europe
- Many cultures view it as an herb more than as a vegetable
- It is very high in vitamins A & C; for this reason it was traditionally used to treat scurvy
- It was also used to quench thirst, to bring down fevers and as a diuretic
- The vegetable was very popular in meals of the court of Henry VIII
- It can be cooked like spinach, used in salads, mashed with vinegar and sugar to make a sauce, or put in soups...I was surprised to find a bunch of recipes online!
I read Animal Vegetable Miracle recently and learned that we only get some minute portion of the varieties of fruits and veggies through our commercial agriculture system. Each time I try something new - like sorrell- I realize what a shame this is. A good way to get around this is to shop at farmers markets, because vendors there tend to cultivate heirloom varieties of plants.
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