Sumac

Sumac is the ingredient that makes you wonder why lemons exist when you could just use this instead. The dried and ground berries of the Rhus coriaria shrub — native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East — deliver a complex, fruity, wine-like tartness with none of the sharpness of citric acid. It is a flavour you cannot substitute…Sumac is the ingredient that makes you wonder why lemons exist when you could just use this instead. The dried and ground berries of the Rhus coriaria shrub — native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East — deliver a complex, fruity, wine-like tartness with none of the sharpness of citric acid. It is a flavour you cannot substitute and, once used, becomes indispensable.In Greek and Cypriot cooking, sumac appears in marinades for meat and fish, in dressings for fattoush (the Lebanese bread salad), as a table condiment sprinkled over dips and grilled dishes at the last moment, and as a key component in za'atar. In Turkish and Middle Eastern cooking, it…Read more