SUMAC TEA! Did I die?

Can you handle the cuteness? No, no you can't. 

Well, as you might imagine, no I didn't die. I didn't even break out into a rash!

We packed up the whole crew, daddy, mommy, AND our little nerdlet and make a little run down the road to where we'd seen some sumac driving home the week before. Apart from it being an enjoyable walk, we came home with quite a bag full of the magical berries.





Before you burn me at the stake for such witchery, I shall tell thee the truth. It wasn't Poison Sumac that I made tea from. It was a plant in the same family known as the Smooth Sumac. They are a tree/shrub thing that can be anywhere from a few feet high to twenty feet tall. With their bright red or maroon berry clusters, they look like something the Lorax would be ticked about people cutting down.

You have probably seen them. They like to grow along roads, edges of fields, and other disturbed sites. They are known as a colonizing plant, one of the first to regrow after an area of land has been cleared.

Exhibit A

For whatever reason, they aren't a commonly used spice in American cuisine. Given their relative abundance and unique, floral and citrus tang, it's odd that more people don't feature it on menus. It is a staple spice in some regions of the Middle East as well.

Look how upright those berries are!
Great job not being poisonous, sumac! 

Proper ID
-Grows along edges of roads, open fields
-Has berry clusters that stand up
-Berries clusters look almost conical, standing up, not drooping (Don't mistake Sumac for poisonous pokeweed berries)
-stems of Sumac look either grayish or dark, sometimes shorter and also growing rather tall

Time of Year
-late summer/early fall. The berries will persist often into winter, which provides some food for deer and other animals.

How to eat it

Well, if you want to do the lemonade/tea, then all you really need to start out is some sumac, a pot, warm water, sugar (optional), and cheese cloth.

1. Fill up a pitcher or a pot with a gallon of warm tap water. Using hot water will release the tannins in the stems, which will give it a bitter flavor. I haven't tried this yet, so not sure how it would taste as a true "tea."

2. Put generous amount of sumac stems in the water, pressing down and crushing a bit with your hands or a spoon.

3. Let this sit for at least 24 hours. I did mine for two days because I wanted it really strong.

4. Pull out the stems. Use the cheesecloth to strain out any residue/ fibrous hairs from the berries. It may take three or four times with the strainer.

Don't leave little berry hairs in your drink. It won't do nice things to your throat. 

5. Add sugar (or not) and enjoy!

To thee I toast!

This is a pretty easy beginning foraging project and the payoff is really great. Enjoy it cold on a warm day or heat it up for a beautiful, floral flavored beverage. Stay tuned for more great outdoors skills, including new puffball recipes and new squirrel recipes!!