The sumac is ripe! The tiny lemony berries from this plant are widely used in the middle east as a spice to sprinkle on top of hummus, in a blend called za’atar and to make a zingy lemonade.
Close up
Be sure to accurately identify this plant as poison sumac has similar leaves but white fruit instead of pink to red plumes. As with all wild plants it’s good to try a small amount at first to make sure you don’t have any allergies.
Sumac
You can either dry the sumac berries then grind them in a food processor to be used as a tart spice or you can make lemonade by soaking them in cold water for several hours then adding sugar. The tart liquid is high in vitamin C and makes a very refreshing beverage.
Sumac lemonade
I'd love to hear from you!