African Sumac trees dot our neighborhood here in Temecula. We have one in our backyard, in fact.
“Sumac? Isn’t that poisonous?” Scott asked shortly after we moved into our house in 2003.
Actually, the majority of sumacs are not poisonous. “Poison sumac” is a type of shrub similar to poison oak.
A few years ago a friend and I were discussing hummus recipes when she mentioned sumac as a good garnish compatible with many types of Middle Eastern food because of it’s fresh, lemony zip. (In fact, when I said, “What does it taste like?”, her answer was only one word: “Lemony!”)
Since then, I’ve been buying sumac at The Spice Merchants in Old Town Temecula and using it to give a pretty and tasty presentation to my own homemade hummus.
[Here's what I do: I transfer it directly from food processor to a shallow serving dish, which is what I use to chill it overnight. Soon before serving, I make a well around the outer rim and drizzle olive oil inside, then add three or five garbanzos in the center. (I set them aside when I'm making the hummus to use as garnish at the end.) The final touch is a sprinkling of sumac, which looks similar to paprika but has a completely different flavor.]
So here’s the kicker. I was watching Man vs Food the other night, and intrepid host Andrew Zimmern was in Kentucky. He ate possum, bear, and something that can best be described as deep-fried pig liverwurst, and is – thankfully! – a “micro-regional” food.
He visited a Cherokee woman who cooked with: SUMAC! How cool is that, to see cultural crossover of a spice little known by mainstream America.
So your Jeopardy take-away for today is…sumac: it’s not all poisonous.
