Rumex leaves: nutrition per 100 g

1. 01

   Vitamin C in a sour leaf

   Rumex carries 53.8 mg vitamin C per 100 g, 27th of 130 foods. Raw sorrel at 100 g would cover 67 per cent of a man's vitamin C need and 83 per cent of a woman's.

2. 02

   Beta-carotene ranks 14th

   The 2754 micrograms of beta-carotene per 100 g puts rumex 14th of 160 foods and 9th among leafy vegetables. The body turns beta-carotene into vitamin A as needed.

3. 03

   Iron with built-in acid

   100 g supplies 3.67 mg iron, 19 per cent of a man's requirement. The leaf's natural acidity and vitamin C help keep iron in an absorbable form, though its oxalate works against that.

4. 04

   Very light, little fibre

   At 20 kcal and 93.2 g water per 100 g, rumex is among the lightest greens, and its 1.3 g fibre is the lowest in its group. It is a flavouring green more than a filling one.

Values per 100 g of the edible portion. Source: Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad. Daily-need shares use the ICMR-NIN 2020 recommended dietary allowances for a 65 kg man and a 55 kg woman doing sedentary work (ICMR-NIN brief note). Nutrients IFCT did not analyse for this food are left out rather than shown as zero.

• Chukka kura pappu style: a handful of sour dock leaves cooked into toor dal with green chilli and a garlic tempering.
• Sour fish curry in Assam: leaves added to a light tenga in place of tomato or lemon.
• Mixed with spinach or amaranth in a saag, so the sourness lifts milder greens.
• Ground into a tangy chutney with coconut, green chilli and roasted urad dal.
• A few torn leaves stirred into a moong dal soup at the end of cooking.

Sorrels are among the highest-oxalate greens eaten anywhere; the sharp taste is the oxalic acid. In normal kitchen amounts, cooked into dal, this is not a problem for most people, but rumex is not a leaf to eat by the bowlful or to juice. People who have had kidney stones, or who have kidney disease, should avoid large amounts and ask their doctor. Cooking it with dal or other greens dilutes it, and cooking in stainless steel rather than aluminium or iron avoids a metallic taste.

Food composition is general information, not a diet plan. Anyone managing a medical condition should plan their diet with a doctor or a registered dietitian.

• Gongura (gogu) leaves

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Spinach

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Tamarind leaves

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Amaranth leaves (chaulai)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Basella leaves

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

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