Ingredients: Sumac (smooth) Berry Powder (Rhus glabra) wildcrafted (not certified organic)
Orgin: USA
Sumac or sumach as we commonly call, is name of flowering plant of genus Rhus. Though it is closely related to poison ivy, the variety of sumac that we eat is non poisonous. The word sumac is derived from Old French word sumac meaning “red.” The fruits of Sumac herb form dense clusters of reddish drupes, which are also called as sumac bobs. The tangy crimson spice which is popularly used is nothing but these purple red fruits, dried and ground, often mixed with salt.
Sumac plant typically belongs to sub tropical and temperate region. It grows in Mediterranian countries, north Africa, South Europe, Afghanistan and Iran. It is a popular condiment used as souring agent. This reddish purple sumac spice power is very common in Middle Eastern and Arab cooking. Sumac adds a tangy lemony taste to food. It is used to marinate meat, garnish hummus, salad. In Iran, sumac is added to rice or kebab. Popular spice mixture za’atar contains sumac (Rhus coriaria). Mixed with freshly cut onion, it is served as appetizer.
Varieties used in North America are Smooth Sumac and Staghorn Sumac, which are used to make tangy cool drink known as sumac-ade or Indian lemonade or rhus juice. Sumacade is made by soaking sumac drupes in cool water, recovering extract and adding sweetner. Native Americans mixed Sumac leaves and drupes along with tobacco in their smoking mixtures. Apart from food uses of Sumac drupes, leaves of certain types of Sumac yield ‘Tanin’, which is used in Tanning of Leather. Sumac tannins are believed to make leather flexible and light.
Health Benefits
There are many possible health benefits to this product. To learn more research online.
Sumac is also known by other names like: Elm-leafed Sumac; gewürzsumach (German); kankrasing (Hindi); shumac; Sicilian sumac; somagh (Farsi); sommacco (Italian); soumaki (Greek); sumac (French); sumac, Somak (Turkish); sumaq (Hebrew); summaq (Arabic); zumaque (Spanish).