Rachel made something delicious a few nights ago.
She took chaya greens (which are one of my favorites) and cooked them mixed in with Jamaican sorrel leaves (Jamaican sorrel is also known as Florida cranberry – and in case you wondered, “are Jamaican sorrel leaves edible?” YES, Jamaican sorrel leaves ARE edible).
The tartness of the Jamaican sorrel leaves meshed excellently with the hearty flavor of the chaya, making a really tasty mess of cooked greens.
The bed above was planted this spring and bears more leaves than we could ever consume – and later in the year, it will bear the delicious tart red calyxes used for cranberry sauce, mixed drinks and teas.
Jamaican sorrel is quite a versatile plant. We find the leaves a bit too tart for the main part of a salad, but mixed in with a few other greens they have a refreshing bite reminiscent of a good balsamic vinegar.
Rachel is still working on her “strange vegetable” cookbook and Jamaican sorrel leaves and calyxes will definitely be in there.
Stay tuned!
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11 responses to “Jamaican Sorrel leaves are a good green”
Is this the same thing as thai roselle? And self seeds everywhere?
Yes – though up here it doesn’t self-seed all that readily. I wish it would but the cold tends to hit before the seeds completely mature.
The new site looks great David.
Thank you, Sam!
I like your new web site, congratulations, this is Hibiscus Sabdariffa, is beatiful…..how distance do you sow the seeds….I write you from Venezuela….
Hi Octavio – thank you very much. We usually plant them about 3′ apart. They get huge!
I bought some jamaican sorrel from you, but it has rounded leaves, long, tall stem, with red tint, do you know what variety that is? Thanks
Hi Alice – welcome to the new site!
If you bought it this year, it’s a cultivar from Thailand. Looks a little different but it can be used the same way.
This leaves can be cooked as pickle or chutney for bread spread, you can google the recipe with name gongura, its similar.
Can you grow malanga in pots?
How about Jamaican yams? Yellow or white. Can any of them be grown in pots?
I don’t have a yard.
Yes, and yes. You just need to give them at least 5 gallons or so.