Harvesting and Processing Sumac Drupes

It's late August and the sumac is ready for picking. Here is a short video showing how we process the drupes. The powder off the berries has a nice tart taste similar to lemon makes a tasty tea. It is also used as a seasoning in many middle eastern dishes. It is a main ingredient in the Middle Eastern spice blend Za'atar.

[@GreaterViewDesign]

One of my favorite things to cook meats in is Persian sumac sauce. Phenomenal stuff.

[@AllAboutTheHarvest]

So you dry the whole drupe, then you remove the berries from the drupe? Or do you get the berries off the drupe 1st, then dehydrate it? And what temp did you dehydrate it at?

[@tinyhouseshannanigins9749]

very cool….my new place had a few sumac trees but the berries aren’t that red or juicy looking….

[@lillianavictoria]

That the best thing on top of Armenian 🇦🇲 shish Cabab with julienned red onions. Yummmmmmmmm yummmmmmmmm

[@bigmomma9371]

Does it keep the sour? I wanna use for sumacaide

[@citymamaontheback40]

great job using every day kitchen gadgets! thankyou for video

[@carolelapointe6659]

Could you tell me what you dropped in your jar at the end please. Thank you for your great suggestions as to how you process it. ❤

[@ghog63]

That is a silica packet. It absorbs moisture. They come in vitamin jars and other stuff that we get. It's not necessary but it keeps the powder from clumping up

[@KerryWalkerhomeopathy]

Awesome! Great concise video thank you

[@pennsylvaniabigfootstructures]

Persian sumac sauce sounds delicious

[@robbright5742]

How long did it take you to get the powder off the seeds? I tried to put the seedy bits through a blender to knock off the powder, but all I got was a lot of wooly, red stuff, that was still really difficult to separate from the seeds. I thought it had dried out enough, but I guess not.

[@ghog63]

I would guess it took less than 1 hour to fill that pint jar. Yeah, they need to be really dry

[@nunamorais4392]

My Dripes have brown crumbly stuff on bittom and white stuff higher up. Is this bad?

[@ghog63]

Not sure without actually seeing them. They do get a lot of bugs which birds feed on all winter so it could be related to that

[@lillianavictoria]

I’m grueling 😅

[@سبحانالله-ه1س7م]

Can you tell me what time of the year you can pick up those berries because I saw a lot of those trees while we’re driving driving to the lake last week and I’m thinking to go back there and pick them up

[@anotheronechance]

Right now

[@ereshkigalinanna6646]

August/Sept

[@Tammepamme]

So if i find a Sumac cone, how do i get it to grow inte another sumac tree?

[@anotheronechance]

You have to harvest ones that have been cold stratified. Ie...you harvest the dried up berries after they've been out all winter

[@loveforeva12]

Can you do anything with the berries after? And how long until the powder is done curing?

[@ghog63]

We fed them to our chickens, not sure if there are other uses for them. The powder is ready immediately.

[@loveforeva12]

@@ghog63thank you! Just picked some and gonna dehydrate in the sun. Any idea how long it takes to sun dry vs in the dehydrator?

[@ghog63]

@@loveforeva12 depends on a lot of factors like how warm it is where you are, humidity and even airflow. Just keep testing them and you will know when the time is right. Enjoy

[@StreetMachine18]

what do you use the sumac powder for?

[@ghog63]

It's used in many middle eastern dishes and the main ingredient in za'atar. We sprinkle it on fish , chicken and eggs and also make tea with it

[@carolelapointe6659]

I use it also sprinkling the powder on salads, grilled vegetables, in couscous, everywhere you want that lemony taste. Using it not cooking it.