Sumac might be best known for flavoring Middle Eastern cuisine, but its roots run deep in Minnesota.
Long used in Indigenous cooking, staghorn sumac, with its clusters of bright-red berries, is easy to spot growing throughout the Upper Midwest. (Stay away from those with white berries — they're poisonous.)
While plenty of foragers pluck, dry and grind the berries themselves, ground sumac is widely available in supermarkets and co-ops. Sumac's sweet-sour taste packs a lemony punch, and its assertiveness complements other flavorful friends like allspice, thyme and cumin.
It plays a starring role in za'atar, another of-the-moment seasoning. Sprinkle sumac on hummus, use it to bolster soups and stews and to season meat and vegetables. Or play up its pucker power and use it to flavor teas, lemonades and marinades.
