Traditions with sumac

Sumac, the dried and ground berries of a shrub, has a bright, lemony tang, and is sprinkled on salads, kebabs, rice and onions in Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and across the Middle East. Before lemons arrived, it gave a sour taste to food in Roman and Arab kitchens. It colours dishes deep red and sits in a small dish on the table, in the manner of salt. These pages follow the traditions that use it.

Where it is used

In Lebanon and Syria, sumac is sprinkled on fattoush salad, hummus and grilled meat, and in Turkey on onions served with kebabs. In Iran, it is on rice and kebab at the table, in Palestine it flavours the festive dish musakhan, with chicken, onions and flatbread, and in Armenia and Georgia, it seasons stews. In Sicily, there is an old use of sumac in tanning and cooking.

What it means

Musakhan, a dish of roast chicken, sumac-spiced onions and taboon bread, is a symbol of Palestinian hospitality, made for the olive harvest and for weddings. In Iran, a dish of sumac on the Nowruz haft-sin table stands for the colour of sunrise. Having it on the table is a sign that a meal is generous, and guests help themselves. A small bowl of sumac beside the salt is the sign of a Levantine or Persian table.