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SUMAC

January 28th, 2007

Genus Species:RHUS CORIARA

Family: ANACARDIACEAE

Origin :Middle East and Mediterranean countries

Cultivated:Southern Italy, Sicily, Near East

Description:
The sumac bush, Rhus coriara, has sour, astringent, red-colored berries that are regarded as a spice flavor, being similar to tamarind. The plant is a member of the cashew family; it grows in Mediterranean countries, and the berry is used in cooking in Turkey and Middle Eastern countries and other Arabic countries. It is used in salad dressings and to flavor meats, rice dishes and kebabs. When mixed with other vegetables, such as onions, it is favored as a condiment. The Middle Eastern spice mixture, zatar, contains sumac, thyme and sesame; some varieties of this mixture also contain hyssop, marjoram, cumin or black pepper.

Medical uses have included digestion and bowel problems. It is said to have diuretic and antipyretic properties. See a list of spices by Taste and Hotness.
Useful Parts :
The berries are dried and ground to create the spice.
Medicinal Properties :
The sumac bush is related to poison sumac (Rhus vermix); this shrub grows in swampy areas in the USA, and contact with it can produce a rash that is similar to the lesions caused by poison oak and poison ivy.
See chemicals in spices.
Historical View :
â€œIts medicinal qualities are wholly to be ascribed to its stypticity or astringency; a property which it possesses in a sufficient degree to render it useful in dyeing, and also in tannin of leather, for it was used in the time of Dioscorides.â€