As of: March 29, 2024, 3:39 p.m
By: Ines Alms
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Borage is one of the typical herbs in the Frankfurt Green Sauce. But you can quickly exceed the amount at which the spice becomes poisonous.
The Frankfurt Green Sauce is one of the spring dishes par excellence: the fresh, finely chopped herbs complement boiled potatoes and hard-boiled eggs perfectly to create a German classic. Whether you prepare the cold sauce with quark, yoghurt or sour cream - seven herbs are usually indispensable: chervil, cress, parsley, pimpinelle, sorrel, chives and borage are the traditional green ingredients. But be careful: the latter contains toxic alkaloids that damage the liver and can even be carcinogenic.
Green sauce: Better without borage, otherwise it quickly becomes poisonous
Borage (in the left hand) is one of the typical herbs that form the ingredients for the Frankfurt Green Sauce. © brennweiteffm/Imago
The season for “Grie Soß” usually begins on Maundy Thursday, but you can enjoy it over a long period of time until the first frost. Just as long as fresh herbs are available. Since herbs usually contain a large amount of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals, green sauce is also considered very healthy. If only it weren't for the borage.
As the
Federal Institute for Risk Assessment
explains, the herb naturally contains high concentrations of so-called pyrrolizidine alkaloids. These toxins protect the borage from predators; both leaves and flowers contain alarming amounts. And they are particularly dangerous for children, pregnant women and breastfeeding women. Even small intakes, especially when consumed regularly, can damage the genetic material and the liver through their breakdown products and cause cancer.
You can find even more exciting garden topics in the regular newsletter from our partner 24garten.de.
The maximum values are five times higher in green sauce
A portion of green sauce (with around 7 grams of borage) can almost five times exceed the considered safe intake of 0.42 micrograms of pyrrolizidine alkaloids per day for an adult, explains the
Fuldaer Zeitung
. The
Hesse Consumer Center
therefore recommends replacing borage with other herbs. By the way, borage is not only found in green sauce - you should also avoid it in other products such as frozen herbs.
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Borage, like the poisonous ragwort, can also be accidentally harvested as a weed and end up in herbal teas, salads or dietary supplements. Since July 1, 2022, legal maximum levels for pyrrolizidine alkaloids have been in effect in the EU.
The solution to the green sauce is obvious, either you eliminate the borage for the sake of your health or you use an alternative such as basil, dill or lemon balm - even if you deviate from tradition.