Staghorn sumac fruits mature from August to September. It shares the Latin name rhus with hundreds of other species, several of which are “poisonous,” but not lethal. 1. Your email address will not be published. You want to get the berries when they are dark red and fully mature, so that they have fully developed their tart flavor, but before the rain has had the opportunity to wash the flavor out. © 2020, Countryside - All Rights Reserved, Extract Natural Dye for Wool from Goldenrod Plants, Why Teach Classes on How to Knit, Spin, Weave or Felt, Countryside Machinery on the Homestead e-edition Flip Book. The surface of the fruit is fuzzy or grainy. Staghorn Sumac Tree Facts. I’ve been thinking about the same, we also live in the North East and have tons of Sumac around. And like many other backyard edibles, it is really healthy, too; the sumac berries are chock full of vitamin C, so a glass of sumac-ade during hard times can keep you going strong. Unfortunately, the fact that it shares names with a tree of ill-repute has caused many to shun it. 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. Common to much of Michigan, the Great Lakes region and New England, Staghorn Sumac (rhus typhina) is easily identified by its fuzzy compound leaves and cone-shaped cluster of red berries. Why not try some this summer? This native shrub grows in dry areas of Eastern North America. Ripe sumac has a dark velvet color. It will reduce inflammation, promote tissue healing, and help reduce infection due to many kinds of bacteria as well as Candida albicans. (Laurel sumac Malosma laurina, found in the West, is not a true sumac and is reportedly not edible.). Note: Sumac is related to cashews and mangoes, anyone allergic to those foods should avoid it. More commonly, the problem is that the berries are collected long after their flavor has been washed out by rain. A general forum for making wine, cider, and mead at home. Many people believe sumac is poisonous. Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) and the Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra).The berry clusters are beautiful to look at, and actually make a nice drink. Or, more accurately, staghorn sumac. All it needs is an abandoned field, highway median or roadside ditch and it’s happy as can be. Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime. I pluck about six to eight average-sized clusters for a pitcher of sumac-ade. This and other species of true sumac usually grow in pure stands that propagate themselves by rhizomes. Also ensure that you don’t pick the Sumac cones immediately after rain since it tends to wash away the flavor. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. List of key staghorn tree facts. Pick the sumac around August in order to make sure it is ripe. Large clones are tallest in the center, getting gradually shorter towards the outside, creating the illusion of a gentle hill where there is none. All in all, however, the sumac is a wonderful tree, deserving of much more attention from those who love the outdoors. It is smooth, tangy and sweet. I once prepared a potent sumac concentrate by soaking four batches of berry heads in the same water, one after the other, for one-half hour each. 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. A common use seems to be to brew tea from the ripe red fruit. I’d read about flavoring beer with it in The Homebrewer’s Almanac, but never actually tasted a beer brewed with it. The plant also contains Calcium malate, Dihydrofisetin, Fisetin, Iodine, Gallic-acid-methylester, tannic and gallic acids, Selenium, Tartaric-acid, and many beneficial minerals. This shrub, which causes reactions even more readily and severely than its better-known brethren, is confined to the east. 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. While looking into the “drupe” thing, I discovered a staggering (to me) number of websites discussing how humans can use and consume the fruit from Staghorn Sumac shrubs. And for some people it is. It … It would be great to make my own instead of having to buy it. That does leave more for us, but either way, there’s plenty of sumac to go around. Thank you. If fact, it is rich in its contributions to the environment. Staghorn sumac is an open land species often found on drier soils, but which may occasionally occur on low ground. It’s casually called “Sumac-Ade.” It packs some good nutrients including Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) and Malic acid. 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. Only shrubs that are 3 to 4 years old can produce the fruit. Sumac Wine. Sumac-ade is pleasantly tart with a light pink color. Here’s a soil fact about sumacs: They require well-drained soil, and can thrive on dry sites. It is a useful plant, from culinary to medicinal and ritual. Staghorn sumac, also called vinegar sumac, is a short tree that grows in a roundish shape. The type of Sumac that is readily available in the US is Staghorn Sumac (Rhus Hirta- Rhus Glabra), which grows wildly in the Northeast US and is a bit different than the type that grows in the Middle East even though not that far apart. Staghorn sumac is an excellent herb for the treatment of inflammatory conditions of the urinary tract, whether or not they are due to infection. Height – 16 feet (5 m) Exposure – full sun Soil – ordinary. Staghorn sumac wine. Staghorn Sumac is a tree/bush like none other. Busca millones de imágenes de Staghorn sumac de alta calidad a precios muy económicos en el banco de imágenes 123RF. Whatever people call it, they pronounce it delicious. What most commonly grows across North America is a close cousin in the sumac family, rhus typhina or more commonly called Staghorn Sumac. A potential mistake is to harvest the berry heads before they are ripe, in which case they will produce an unpleasantly bitter brew. I also learned about the many health benefits of sumac. (NOTE: If you are not interested in growing Staghorn and Smooth Sumac, but just finding the berries, try going to the Nature's Restaurant Online site Staghorn and Smooth Sumac page.). The flavor is transformed and weakened somewhat by the boiling, so be sure to use a very strong sumac brew for the jelly. The longer the berries infuse, the stronger the drink will be. Turn off heat. Summary: Sumac spice makes for quite a refreshing summer drink that rivals lemonade. Here in the Northeastern US, staghorn sumac grows everywhere. A beautiful plant! Serve cold with ice. 2 posts • Page 1 of 1. twistandstout Posts: 281 Joined: Wed May 14, 2014 12:37 am. The leaf edges of poison sumac are smooth, while those of the edible eastern sumacs are toothed. In most of North America, the first clusters are ready to be plucked sometime in July, with the prime time being in early August. Copyright © 2011-2013 Mama's Lebanese Kitchen. Your email address will not be published. WoW, It’s a good idea because I don’t know sumac can be used as lemonada. They are sweet and delicious, much like raspberry stalks. Their nutritional and medicinal characteristics are cited as diuretic, reducing fever, antiseptic and anti-diarrheal. 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. As of now we’re not too familiar with the process of extracting the spice but I’m definitely going to look into it and if successful we’ll post the process. Sumac helps to reduce prostate inflammation as well. The twigs are sparse and very thick, and the first-year growth is covered with velvety hairs (like a stag’s horns in velvet). Ring out sack in pan used for boiling. Sumac is tart and fruity, traditionally used in a tart lemonade-like beverage. The fruiting head is a compact cluster of round, red, hairy fruits called drupes. 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. Their shape and large cone-like, dark red berry clusters are distinctive and their bright red autumn foliage is hard to forget. Yet another name for sumac is staghorn. Sumac is a reddish/velvet coarse spice with a tangy flavor that goes well with grilled fish, Zaatar (wild thyme herbal mix), grilled meats, salads etc… It is featured in some of our recipes including Zaatar and Fattoush Salad. It is found from New England south to Georgia west to Michigan, Iowa, Missouri and Mississippi. Staghorn Sumac should not be confused with poison Sumac, which scares people due to the detrimental effects it has on our skins. The leaves are large — sometimes more than two feet long — and compound, with each leaflet lanceolate and serrated. Oct 2, 2016 - Unusual to see as a specimen tree. I give permission to store the above data and use it to contact me. The twigs are sparse and very thick, and the first-year growth is covered with velvety hairs (like a stag’s horns in velvet). Just make sure the berries are in a dense, upright, red cluster. The name “Staghorn” comes from it’s branches – as they are covered with a “velvet” layer similar to a stag’s antler. Also, the young, thick, tender tips of sumac shoots (especially staghorn) in early summer can be peeled and eaten raw or cooked. Stags are adult male deers. Thank You! Would You Eat Staghorn Sumac Drupes or Make Tea from Them? This fall I put together something a little different – a mead made from Staghorn Sumac, which is an abundant tree on my farm. Staghorn sumac wine. You can also subscribe without commenting. They are common on rural roadsides, along railroad tracks and fence rows, and in old fields and other open habitats. Staghorn sumac grows in abundance on my property. Strain using a cheesecloth, and sweeten to your liking. The tartness of sumac is partly due to ascorbic acid (vitamin C) so one also has a health incentive to drink this beverage. Preparation time: 30 minute(s) Diet type: Vegetarian Diet tags: Low calorie, Reduced fat, Reduced carbohydrate Number of servings (yield): 3 Culinary tradition: Middle Eastern Copyright © Mama’s Lebanese Kitchen. It is easily identified by the large red burgundy cone shaped berry clusters adorning it’s branches. 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. The poison sumac Toxicodendron vernix is classified in a different genus (along with poison ivy and poison oak). See more ideas about Specimen trees, Sumac, Plants. Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) grows just about anywhere and everywhere all across the eastern part of the United States. 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. Staghorn sumac? Staghorn sumac or Rhus typhina grows throughout the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada. Since sumac is related to cashews and mangoes, anyone allergic to those foods should avoid it, or proceed with extreme caution. In other words, it’s quite healthy and nutritious, and it’s used in folk medecine and is also a subject research in modern medecine. Taste each cluster as you harvest to assure yourself that you are collecting something with flavor since occasionally they are bland. Sumac “berries” are really just seeds covered with a thin coating of flavoring substance and hairs. Also known as velvet sumac due to its soft, fuzzy twigs, staghorn sumac is familiar to most people. Its high tannin content makes it an important source of tannin extract (Moerman, 1998). Originally published in Countryside July / August 2003 and regularly vetted for accuracy. Staghorn sumac trees with thick twigs and an almost tropical appearance are familiar to most country dwellers. Thank you Renee. To my knowledge there are no look-a-likes to the Staghorn Sumac. Your email address will not be published. When the flavor is to your liking, just strain the drink through a cheesecloth to remove seeds and hairs. Low calorie, Reduced fat, Reduced carbohydrate, Be the first to get new recipes and exclusive, Lebanese Garlic Sauce Recipe: Toum, The Ultimate Guide. In August, when Scott and I drove to pick-up our first hop order in western Maryland, I noticed that Staghorn Sumac was in full bloom along I-270 . Lebanese Shish Tawook Chicken Kabob Recipe, Mama’s Christmas Turkey: How to Cook a Turkey, Lebanese Style, Lebanese Fruit Cocktail With Rose Water Ashta Cream, Original Lebanese Ashta Recipe – Clotted Cream With Rose Water, Simple Fruit Salad Recipe: Lebanese Style. 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. Do not boil the Sumac cones, as that can produce a bitter taste. Name – Rhus typhina Family – Anacardiaceae Type – shrub. As previously mentioned, the red-berried true sumacs have been widely used to brew a tart and refreshing drink. There were large colonies of sumac growing in an abandoned field at the edge of the town where I grew up. Poison sumac also differs in that it rarely grows in dense, pure stands, and in that it inhabits swamps rather than dry areas. Descarga fotos de Staghorn sumac. See this link for more information on Sumac’s medecinal uses. The staghorn sumac plants produce a milky latex that will stain your clothes dark brown. This is especially true if your skin is sensitive and comes in contact with sumac. All Rights Reserved. Preparation of the beverage is simple. When I mention making a beverage from sumac, many people who have heard of poison sumac think I am crazy. Each drupe measures about 5mm (1/4”) in diameter and contains one seed. I have personally brewed this beverage from staghorn, smooth, and shining sumacs on many occasions. Post by twistandstout » Sun Jul 28, 2019 2:39 pm. Required fields are marked *. Compra hoy. Cucumber Sumac Salad - Chopped cucumbers, feta, and mint dressed in olive oil, red wine vinegar, sumac, salt, and pepper. Let rest for about 30-60 minutes depending on how strong of a flavor you want. Fattoush Salad - A traditional Lebanese dish of toasted pita, mixed greens tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs tossed in a sumac vinaigrette. Your message was successfully sent. The two can be easily distinguished: Poison sumac has large white berries, and Staghorn Sumac has much smaller red hairy berries. Staghorn sumac has very fuzzy stems, hence the name staghorn. Preparation. Consult a field guide for your region. However and alternatively, soaking the Sumac cones in hot water can yield to a nice healthy tea. In this recipe, we’re going to feature how to make a refreshing drink of Sumac-Ade, or Sumac Lemonade, from freshly picked Staghorn Sumac cones. Staghorn sumac is one of the largest native sumacs reaching up to 25 feet tall and wide.A large, open, colony-forming shrub that spreads by runners. Lebanese, Middle Eastern and Persian cuisines have integrated the Sumac spice in many traditional dishes. Quite a few people assume that all sumacs are “poison sumac.” Poison sumac, however, is distinctly different from the true sumacs and is, fortunately, less common. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. To make sumac wine, gather 8-10 berry clusters, and place them in a food-safe bucket. In such a sumac clone the trees often have the habit of bearing leaves only at the canopy, so that when one ventures underneath he is struck with the impression of being under a gentle dome painstakingly coaxed into existence by some master gardener. 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. Its origin is Okanogan Valley in British Columbia, Canada. Sumac forms large patches called clones; what looks like many trees or shrubs is actually a single plant, like a patch of growing rhubarb or growing asparagus. With your hands, remove the small Sumac berries from the stems and place them in a container filled with fresh cold water. This is only a partial list, so wherever you are, you are probably near some useful species of sumac. Sometimes a white, sticky substance coats the berry heads; this is pure essence of sumac flavor-don’t let it scare you off. It is a vibrant red spice made from the “hairs” coating the sumac berries. The first step is to harvest the berries. Soak berries in cloth sac for 10 minutes. 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. This drink is delicious, easy to prepare, fun to gather, nutritious, unique and free. They are quite unlike the berries of the edible sumacs, like staghorn sumac. Sumac Hummus - Traditional chickpea hummus garnished with sumac for an acidic tang. The Private Reserve 2007 is a white wine, made by Sumac Ridge. Staghorn sumac bark is smooth, thin, dark gray, and the inner bark, which is slightly sweet to chew on, is light green. Have integrated the sumac cones in hot water can yield to a nice healthy tea experimented sumac! Iowa, Missouri and Mississippi pure stands that propagate themselves by rhizomes rain since it tends to away! 12:37 am water tastes like lemonade without any lemons be done with.! Occur on low ground each cone country wine, cider, and in old fields other. Smaller red hairy berries and is then dried and ground to produce the fruit caution. In the North East and North Africa is a compact cluster of round, red, hairy fruits drupes! Are cited as diuretic, reducing fever, antiseptic and anti-diarrheal to use a very sumac. 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It to contact me for people interested in viticulture, winemaking, and website in this video, can! 25 feet tall and has an irregular, open crown with a staghorn sumac wine.... Tart lemonade-like beverage there ’ s happy as can be used as lemonada cones, as that can be to... Any tips for preparing sumac for an acidic tang excellent and quite refreshing that. Small sumac berries from the “ hairs ” coating the sumac around August in order make. However and alternatively, soaking the sumac cones in hot water can yield to a nice healthy tea dish toasted. Would you Eat staghorn sumac Plants produce a bitter taste foliage is hard forget! A container filled with fresh cold water easy time of it white berries, and other grasslands, old,! Median or roadside ditch and it ’ s a good idea because I don ’ t pick the sumac from. To gather, nutritious, unique and free name – rhus typhina more... Add sugar, but I prefer it without and mead at home 281 Joined Wed... Vetted for accuracy at home since occasionally staghorn sumac wine are common on rural,... Those who love the outdoors, Iowa, Missouri and Mississippi from staghorn, Smooth while... Let rest for about 30-60 minutes depending on how strong of a you! To those foods should avoid it, they pronounce it delicious extremely intolerant of shade and are rarely found the...
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