Sumac’s citrusy flavor is great with chicken, fish, lamb and grains. Is staghorn sumac poisonous? They are common on rural roadsides, along railroad tracks and fence rows, and in old fields and other open habitats. Leave out the lemon juice. They are sweet and delicious, much like raspberry stalks. Sumac leaves turn from their summer shades of bright yellow and green to red and orange in late summer to early fall signaling that it’s also time to start foraging. Here’s a soil fact about sumacs: They require well-drained soil, and can thrive on dry sites. This and other species of true sumac usually grow in pure stands that propagate themselves by rhizomes. There are many ways to cook with both fresh and dried sumac. One of my all-time favorite drinks for the late summer and early fall is Sumac Lemonade. Your email address will not be published. When I mention making a beverage from sumac, many people who have heard of poison sumac think I am crazy. Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment. Allow to sit for half an hour, and strain. This is only a partial list, so wherever you are, you are probably near some useful species of sumac. https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/sumac-lemonade-zmaz09jjzraw All in all, however, the sumac is a wonderful tree, deserving of much more attention from those who love the outdoors. Consult a field guide for your region. Place sumac berries large pitcher or shallow bowl and cover with water. Lightly floral, tart and refreshing it’s delicious as-is or used as a mixer in cocktails and mocktails. Sometimes a white, sticky substance coats the berry heads; this is pure essence of sumac flavor-don’t let it scare you off. Its fruits contain high doses of vitamin C and tannin compounds. Unfortunately, the fact that it shares names with a tree of ill-repute has caused many to shun it. I’ve tried steeping the sumac both in the refrigerator and in the sun, but I’ve read that the refrigerator version retains more vitamin C. How much is too much sumac lemonade? My sister made one of the best wines that I have ever tasted from it. It is made from a plant that is widely distributed throughout most of North America and easily identified. * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. The petite, merci: MN Staghorn Sumac Lemonade and Kombucha! Taste each cluster as you harvest to assure yourself that you are collecting something with flavor since occasionally they are bland. Personally, I’ve consumed an entire batch of sumac lemonade in one day by myself with no issues. The longer the berries infuse, the stronger the drink will be. As previously mentioned, the red-berried true sumacs have been widely used to brew a tart and refreshing drink. Also, I’ve seen many medical personnel recommend that people who easily form kidney stones should consume as little oxalate as possible, so sumac “lemonade” would be a “no-no” for those people. If you make this or any of my dishes, I'd love to know! It’s casually called “Sumac-Ade.” I take my half-dozen berry clusters, cram them into a pitcher, pour cold water over them, crush them up a little with my hand, and then let the pitcher sit in a cool place for a while. How to make sumac lemonade: A dark purple coloration usually indicates that the flavor of the fruit has developed fully, yet some of the best clusters I’ve tasted were light pink. I can't wait to see what you think and how you make it your own! Your email address will not be published. In this video I go over how to identify the Staghorn Sumac and how to make Sumac Lemonade. Stir thoroughly until honey is dissolved. sign up to get all recipes delivered straight to your inbox, November 9, 2019 by ONE armed MAMA 4 Comments. (On some of the western species, the clusters are pretty small and may not be as tight as on the eastern species, but they are still distinctly red.) By Sam Thayer – Sumac is a common, well-known and easily recognized feature of the rural North American landscape. Euell Gibbons recommended using sumac-ade instead of plain water to boil elderberry and other fruits that need a touch of tartness to liven them up for using in jam or jelly. Why not try some this summer? Leave for up to 2 days before straining for maximum color. Please be aware that the yummy sour taste of sumac berries is due to their calcium oxalate content. Cover loosely with a coffee filter or tea towel. Pour into an 8×8 or 8×10 inch baking pan and refrigerate for an hour or more. Your email address will not be published. As far as I can see sumac gets a bad wrap because of the poisonous WHITE-berried sumac and it’s relation to poison oak (also related to mangoes and cashews) and the issue with oxalic acid content is akin to worrying about consuming too much spinach, the health benefits generally outweigh any perceived risk. The large clusters are so easy to collect that in just a few moments you can have enough for a pitcher of wild Kool-Aid that kids will love. This concentrate made a wonderful and very tart jelly. I spent many hours as a child in the calming shade of sumac domes, following rabbit runs in the short grass below or just listening to the birds, daydreaming and staring skyward. Stir 3–4 times per day. The surface of the fruit is fuzzy or grainy. Originally published in Countryside July / August 2003 and regularly vetted for accuracy. Sumac has been used for centuries in the Middle East & Mediterranean as a flavoring & is what gives za’atar blends their zing! I usually just snap off the twig that bears the cluster by bending it quickly, although some people use pruning shears or a knife. A potential mistake is to harvest the berry heads before they are ripe, in which case they will produce an unpleasantly bitter brew. Sumac Lemonade + simple syrup + vodka (or gin) either mixed ahead of time or mixed straight in the glass. So simply remember: red berries good, white berries bad. The longer it brews the stronger and more intense the flavor. More commonly, the problem is that the berries are collected long after their flavor has been washed out by rain. Sumac Rubber Candy: Take on cup of sweetened juice, add two envelopes of gelatin, mix. It is primarily found in southeastern Canada, the northeastern and midwestern United States, and the Appalachian Mountains, but it is widely cultivated as an ornamental throughout the temperate world. When made properly it is as universally liked as lemonade. Staghorn Sumac Tea - Top Health Benefits | All Natural Ideas Sumac Jello: Mix the prepared juice with unflavored gelatin per instruction on package. Learn More →, Copyright © 2021 Fresh Flavorful on the Foodie Pro Theme. (If you’re using staghorn sumac, then go for the hairiest ones–that’s where the flavor is.) If you desire a stronger tasting beverage, strain and then add … https://www.tngun.com/recipe-sumac-lemonaide-a-free-source-of-asorbic-acid Sumac Jelly: Take prepared juice and use the Sure-Jell recipe for elderberry jelly, 3 cups juice to 4.5 cups of sugar. Lemonade Sumac ; Sourberry ; Rhus typhina: Staghorn Sumac; Rhus typhina 'Laciniata' Laceleaf Staghorn Sumac; Contact Info. Hi Mary, I am not a doctor and am not giving medical advice and can only speak to my own experience. Whatever people call it, they pronounce it delicious. To enjoy this refreshing summer beverage in the middle of winter, it pays to harvest the heads in prime time and dry them, so you don’t have to worry about using mediocre material. Staghorn sumac trees with thick twigs and an almost tropical appearance are familiar to most country dwellers. The twigs are sparse and very thick, and the first-year growth is covered with velvety hairs (like a stag’s horns in velvet). Required fields are marked *. https://phillipsfarmbatavia.com/2017/08/20/staghorn-sumac-lemonade-and-jelly Our favorite way to use sumac is in lemonade. Keep in mind that my experiences refer to these species in the Midwest, and other kinds might need to be treated a little differently. The tartness of sumac is partly due to ascorbic acid (vitamin C) so one also has a health incentive to drink this beverage. It bears little resemblance to Staghorn sumac, in my mind, principally because poison sumac has white berries. I also cover some of the medicinal properties of the Sumac. That does leave more for us, but either way, there’s plenty of sumac to go around. Also, people who are sensitive or allergic to mangoes, pistachios, and cashews are best advised to avoid sumac due to the fact that they are all related. So good on popcorn at family movie nights! The tangy, acidic taste gave the tree its other common name: the vinegar tree. The leaves are large — sometimes more than two feet long — and compound, with each leaflet lanceolate and serrated. The Staghorn sumac was one of my favorite tree before I even learned to make sumac lemonade. They are unique looking shrubs, grow without maintenance,… I cant believe how potent, viscous and delicious the resulting liquid is. Sumac Lemonade brewed from foraged sumac berries and cool water tastes like lemonade without any lemons! It’s The Natchez used the Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica) root to treat boils. In late summer and early fall bright pink sumac clusters pop up on sumac trees growing wild all over North America, especially along the eastern United States. They are pioneer plants and quickly spread by rhizomes to colonize erosion prone areas. easy to forage for in the wild. Sumac is a shrub or small tree that is common to much of the Great Lakes region and Michigan. Sumac has a unique, tart flavor similar to lemon. You can expect to find good ones if you taste around, until early October and sometimes later and there are always those with just a hint of flavor. Sumac “berries” are really just seeds covered with a thin coating of flavoring substance and hairs. Large clones are tallest in the center, getting gradually shorter towards the outside, creating the illusion of a gentle hill where there is none. Cut the bobs–the waxiest ones you can find–oozing the white stuff over the red [or purplish] drupes. Although the current recommendations are that consuming sumac berries is very safe, just as consuming spinach is, anyone who is typically medically susceptible to food allergies and health problems should understand that food writers are unable to list every potential health concern for each individual person of each individual recipe ingredient and should use their own best judgment when trying foods for the first time. Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) is a deciduous shrub or small tree that belongs to the Anacardiaceae family. The staghorn sumac plants produce a milky latex that will stain your clothes dark brown. The leaf edges of poison sumac are smooth, while those of the edible eastern sumacs are toothed. Delicious as-is straight from the glass you could also use Sumac Lemonade as a base for other creations like sumac beer, wine, and kombucha.Or mix up sumac mocktails and cocktails. and easing cramps, a natural diuretic helpful in eliminating wastes and toxins from the body. There are numerous other species of sumac in North America, and at least one is found in almost every inhabited part of the continent. Easy to find in the wild with a flavor that can’t be matched staghorn sumac is a fabulous flavor and health-packed plant that can be used fresh or dry to add a bright note and beautiful pink hue to all sorts of dishes like this blush pink cold brewed tea ‘lemonade’. Although I have found good-tasting berries into April, this is the exception; around here the vast majority of them are spent by the end of August. Yet few people know that these little trees have provided a delicious and refreshing summer drink throughout much of the world for thousands of years. Read More →, Inspired by the magic that happens when people gather around the table, connect with one another, and pursue their passions through all the stages of life, Fresh Flavorful was created in the Spring of 2013 (formerly ONE armed MAMA.com) helping others eat, entertain and adventure their way to a Fresh Flavorful Life. Their shape and large cone-like, dark red berry clusters are distinctive and their bright red autumn foliage is hard to forget. When researching it’s easy to find a whole slew of documents about the health benefits but very difficult to find much about the risks of sumac. Be sure to follow @freshflavorful on instagram and tag me or use #onearmedmamacooks. if you don’t have sumac growing wild nearby chances are you can grow it yourself from seed or cutting. Pouring boiling or hot water over the berries makes for poor flavor, for it leaches tannin from the stems, causing the drink to become bitter. It grows throughout eastern North America as a shrub with bright red terminal conic fruit clusters covered in red tart hairs (Figure 22.1).Rhus hirta fruit had the highest activity in all the assays tested for different types of antioxidant activity (McCune and Johns, 2002). Made like a cold brew tea Sumac Lemonade is just sumac and water. The sumac that is used in the spice blend is one member of the sumac family (genus, rhus), rhus coriraria or more commonly called European Sumac. The staghorn sumac, named for the velvety covering on its new branches, similar to the velvet on a stags new antlers, is a common and widespread species of edible sumac. Crush the berry clusters in the water using a sturdy spoon then allow sumac to soak for at least a few hours or overnight, the longer it soaks the more flavorful it will be. If still flavorful, harvest and use as directed, washing well before using. There are other things that can be done with sumac-ade. Sumac berries (or “drupes” which is their proper label) are a wild treat that can be found in wooded areas all over... Rinse your sumac in cool water to remove any of the “outdoor elements” that might be clinging to them. Remove all the leaves. Prairie sumac Rhus lanceolata occurs in Texas and parts of Oklahoma and New Mexico; Mearn’s sumac R. choriophylla grows in southern Arizona and New Mexico; lemonade berry R. integrifolia grows in southern California; shining sumac R. copallina is found over the southern half of eastern North America, smooth sumac R. glabra is found throughout the eastern U. S. and scattered in the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains; fragrant sumac R. aromatica and the very similar basket bush R. trilobata are found in mountainous or rocky situations from coast to coast, south into Mexico and north into Canada. They are amazing plants for pollinators and overlooked by almost everyone! 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