If sorrel roots are used as a mordant a bluish colour will be made. Plant also used for tanning leather. Leaves used to make a gargle for sore throats, mouth ulcers and gum infections. As a drink it was used to treat heartburn and stomach ache. Applied as a compress for piles.
Leaves make a soft yellow.
The roots were eaten, boiled or roasted, and tasted similar to parsnips. If eaten raw the roots had a crunchy, nutty flavour. Sometimes the roots were dried and ground to make porridge or flour for bread. Common sorrel is a mordant for black, and the leaves picked in summer produce a blue-green dye. Leaves of common sorrel used in salads and sauces, and to remove rust stains from linen.