Sommaq, Sumac, Sumak

[Carrot Top]

Does anyone else have a favorite use for this wonderful spice?            i love the taste of sumac but I have few occasions to use it

←

There are two really good recipes that include sumac in Claudia Roden's "Arabesque": Bread Salad with Sumac (Fattoush) and Chicken Pie with Onions and Sumac (Musakhan).

There is advice that the chicken pie filling (which includes lots of caramelized onions, sumac, cinnamon, cardmom and lemon) can also be put in a pita and eaten.

[milkman]

There are several recipes using sumac in the Moro Cookbook by Sam and Sam Clark: courgette, pinenut and herb omelette; feta, spinach and pinenut salad; seared sirloin salad with barley and grapes; and grilled marinated swordfish.

I particularly like the seared sirloin salad.

[Naftal]

Way to go These are the kinds of things I am looking for.

Does anyone know how to make hunelly(a spice mix)?

Edited June 12, 2007 by Naftal (log)

[Peter the eater]

The sumac I know is a spindly shrub that grows wild along the road and in open forested areas. Its most remarkable feature is a brilliant red leaf in autumn.

Is this the same plant you all are talking about? If so which part - leaf, bark, root, sap?

[melkor]

The sumac I know is a spindly shrub that grows wild along the road and in open forested areas. Its most remarkable feature is a brilliant red leaf in autumn.

Is this the same plant you all are talking about? If so which part - leaf, bark, root, sap?

←

Berries.

[Carrot Top]

From Wildfoods- Trees, Uses

The Sumac is a large shrub that commonly grows along roadsides, in abandoned pastures, and on the edges of forests. Sumac belongs to the Rhus family which also includes poison ivy, poisonoak, and about 100 species of other trees and shrubs. Three species of sumac are common throughout the south. These are Winged Sumac (Rhus copaliina); Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)' and Poison Sumac (Rhus vernix). The leaves of the Winged and Staghorn Sumac are similar. The leaves are alternate, deciduous, and odd-pinnately compound, with 9 to 31 leaflets. The berries are small, nearly round, about 1/8 inch in diameter, with a hard pit and a thin layer of dry flesh clothed in a dense coat of crimson colored, sour hairs. The fruit clusters are often persistent throughout the winter and are a key characteristic of the speices.

Only the red berries from the Winged and the Staghorn Sumac can be used. The white berries of Poison Sumac and Poison Ivy are very poisonous and should be avoided at all costs. Be absolutely certain that you are using the red berries on the non-toxic species.

Several Native American tribes used berries from Sumac for various uses. Some common names were: Kiowa name: maw-kho-la (tobacco mixture); Dakota name: chan-zi (yellow wood); Winnebago name: haz-ni-hu (water-fruit bush). Several parts of the shrub were used medicinally; roots for dye; stems for basketry; leaves as tannin for tanning leather and dried leaves for smoking mixtures; berries as tea; roots, shoots, berries as food. Sumac berries found in human remains from a bluff shelter in the Ozarks dated back to a least 3,000 years ago.

[BarbaraY]

The sumac I know is a spindly shrub that grows wild along the road and in open forested areas. Its most remarkable feature is a brilliant red leaf in autumn.

Is this the same plant you all are talking about? If so which part - leaf, bark, root, sap?

←

Be careful of this plant unless you have someone reassure you that it is the right one. Sounds awful lot like Poison Sumac which is like poison ivy and no fun at all.

Edited to add that I sort of skimmed over Carrot tops post. Sorry

Edited June 15, 2007 by BarbaraY (log)

[sazji]

The staghorn sumac in the US does have a sour taste, but it is a different species that is used in the Middle East. (I could look up the species but I'm too lazy...) The berries of the American one are fuzzy; the ones here are quite a bit larger and when packed, are sticky/gummy. They are sour without being nearly as astringent. We made "sumac lemonade" from staghorn sumac and could hardly drink it; but the drink made from sumac here is really very nice - just a hint of that astringency.

[Naftal]

The staghorn sumac in the US does have a sour taste, but it is a different species that is used in the Middle East. (I could look up the species but I'm too lazy...) The berries of the American one are fuzzy; the ones here are quite a bit larger and when packed, are sticky/gummy. They are sour without being nearly as astringent. We made "sumac lemonade" from staghorn sumac and could hardly drink it; but the drink made from sumac here is really very nice - just a hint of that astringency.

←

Is the sumac sold in Middle Eastern stores in the U.S. the American or the Middle Eastern variety ?

[melkor]

The staghorn sumac in the US does have a sour taste, but it is a different species that is used in the Middle East. (I could look up the species but I'm too lazy...) The berries of the American one are fuzzy; the ones here are quite a bit larger and when packed, are sticky/gummy. They are sour without being nearly as astringent. We made "sumac lemonade" from staghorn sumac and could hardly drink it; but the drink made from sumac here is really very nice - just a hint of that astringency.

←

Is the sumac sold in Middle Eastern stores in the U.S. the American or the Middle Eastern variety ?

←

Depends on your Middle Eastern store I'd imagine.

[kristin_71]

Penzy's also sells zaatar, which is good to know in the winter when fresh herbs are less than available. I always use sumac in fatoosh zaatar on bread when baking. Really good hot out of the oven with some labne and maybe some really good olives.

[zora]

To follow up on that way-back comment/query about sumac lemonade: I had some of this when I was just in Istanbul (oh, Ciya, I love you!), and it was quite nice, though not quite as zingy as I would've liked. Sounds like Sazji would know better, but I think you just steep the whole sumac berries like you would a tea, and then add sugar. It has a great pink flavor.

I got myself some whole sumac while in Turkey, so maybe I can make myself a stronger version.

On the zaatar tip, one of the 8 million delicious things I just ate in Syria was a salad of zaatar, soft cheese and tomato. I was a little perplexed when it came to the table, because the zaatar element looked exactly like chopped-up rosemary...but then tasted more like oregano. It was a pretty intense salad.

A trip to the farmers market, and reading a little of this thread, I now see that's what we call hyssop, the something-or-other spicata variety. Anyway, it was interesting to see zaatar used (in Arabic, not just random translation) to describe this plant as well. Looking at all the overlapping varieties of thyme/oregano/marjoram/zaatar/hyssop makes me feel a little dizzy.

[ChefCrash]

Sounds like you had a great trip.

Wish you would tell us more about what you ate in Syria. Are hard boiled egg sandwiches still popular street food in Damascus?

The Zaatar you ate is referred to as "Zaatar Farsi" translates to Persian Zaatar. It's used in salads and is also pickled. It's very much (if not the same as) like Summer Savory.

[zora]

I'll pull my notes together and start a separate Syria spread. We didn't get to Damascus this time, but I can say I didn't spot any egg sandwiches in Aleppo. Which is a real shame, because hard-boiled-egg sandwiches are one of my favorite things!

Yikes. Savory. Just one more thing to add to the mix. Interesting that you say zaatar farsi gets pickled, because my husband thought the stuff was like the pickled caperberry bush (or what he _thought_ was caperberry bush) he ate a lot in Greece. Later we talked to a woman in a Greek health food store, and she told him it was something else...but not any word we knew that mapped with zaatar. Now I wonder if it's all hyssop. Can someone draw a Venn diagram of this somehow?

[Naftal]

Thanks all. This is just the kind of discussion I was looking forward to when I started this whole thread

[ChefCrash]

Found this in the fridge. It's great with Basturma. Picked it up in Dearborn about a year ago. Forgot I had it.

Edited July 26, 2007 by ChefCrash (log)

[zora]

Suspicious--we had a jar that looked like that with a Greek label for a long time! I appreciate that this Syrian jar has a drawing of the little green sprig on it, which actually clears up a lot.

I guess I'll just pickle some of the hyssop from the plant I bought at the farmer's market and see what happens...

[linda dalal]

On slices of (white)  raw onion rings.

I use it a lot in salads and grilled meat skewers. (chicken and lamb)

←

I love the onion idea, what kinds of salads do you make?

←

friends of mine from douma (lebanon) use sumac to marinate spanish onions for addition to fattoush. onions are chopped julienne style, placed in a bowl and then sprinkled generously with sumac and set aside for an hour or so before adding to the fattoush. the sumac reduces the sharpness of raw onions, almost "cooks" them, making them more palatable than raw onion.

our family (also from douma) makes fattoush with sumac just sprinkled into the salad and use green onions rather than white, but the sumac onion variation also makes for a great fattoush. both of these are included in my cookbook, alice's kitchen.

[Lior]

Hello all! Salaam, shalom, etc

I am from Israel, and just ran down to check my spice drawer-got curious... My Za'atar jar says, "Hyssop, sesame seeds, sumac, salt and lemon salt" We use it constantly. Some ideas: Pour olive oil on top of a plate of hummous and generously sprinkle za'atar on the top.

sprinkle on soft white cheeses, dip triangles of fresh or toasted pita into olive oil and then into a bowl of za'atar. My daughter loves in on a piece of bread with chocolate spread!

Bye

Lior

Edited August 4, 2007 by Lior (log)

[Naftal]

Hello all! Salaam, shalom, etc

I am from Israel, and just ran down to check my spice drawer-got curious... My Za'atar jar says, "Hyssop, sesame seeds, sumac, salt and lemon salt" We use it constantly. Some ideas: Pour olive oil on top of a plate of hummous and generously sprinkle za'atar on the top.

sprinkle on soft white cheeses, dip triangles of fresh or toasted pita into olive oil and then into a bowl of za'atar. My daughter loves in on a piece of bread with chocolate spread!

Bye

Lior

←

Greetings!

You had some very original ideas I was wondering if the chocolate spread you use is Nutella

[Lior]

Well yes it is one of them... However there is a national favorite here and no matter how delicious anyother kind is, gourmet or other, most people are almost fanatical about what they grew up with. It is like the american favorite: peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It is on many school sandwiches...

Lior

[melkor]

←

That stuff is horrible. It seems to be made with equal parts plastic and wax with a little chocolate flavoring and artificial coloring added.

[Lior]

←

That stuff is horrible. It seems to be made with equal parts plastic and wax with a little chocolate flavoring and artificial coloring added.

←

Yes I agree, but hardly anyone else does! You cannot talk sense to most. I guess it is like Hershey's- plastic chocolate loved by most Americans! It is connected to childhood memories!!

[melkor]

←

That stuff is horrible. It seems to be made with equal parts plastic and wax with a little chocolate flavoring and artificial coloring added.

←

Yes I agree, but hardly anyone else does! You cannot talk sense to most. I guess it is like Hershey's- plastic chocolate loved by most Americans! It is connected to childhood memories!!

←

I always think of Hersey's as more a mix of wax and chalk..

[Pontormo]

Sumac (powdered form) is excellent rubbed onto a rack of spareribs prior to roasting or grilling. I just combined it with a chili powder (American version--spice mixture) this time around and was very happy with the results.