Mysterious plant (edible)

22 Comments

1. alia
   Posted June 26, 2012 at 6:01 am | Permalink

   sumac

2. Beirut Soul Kitchen
   Posted June 26, 2012 at 6:11 am | Permalink

   sumac

3. Linda
   Posted June 26, 2012 at 6:13 am | Permalink

   Sumac

4. John
   Posted June 26, 2012 at 6:17 am | Permalink

   Yesssss I know ..this is Semmaa’.

5. Samantha Angela
   Posted June 26, 2012 at 6:28 am | Permalink

   I’m guessing sumac?
   I know there are a few different varieties of it but I don’t know if all of them are edible, but it does look like sumac that grows around here.

6. MyLittleExpatKitchen
   Posted June 26, 2012 at 7:34 am | Permalink

   I have no idea what this is but I’m incredibly curious to find out!!
   I love these posts of yours with the strange and unique ingredients, Joumana. You have become my produce encyclopedia
   Magda

7. MyLittleExpatKitchen
   Posted June 26, 2012 at 7:34 am | Permalink

   oops, sumac?? I just thought about it

8. Reinventing Nadine
   Posted June 26, 2012 at 10:21 am | Permalink

   it is Sumac..we had a tree in our yard in Lebanon

9. Nadji
   Posted June 26, 2012 at 12:40 pm | Permalink

   Je donne ma langue au chat.
   Beaucoup ont répondu sumac, je ne connais ce dernier que sous forme de poudre.
   A bientôt

10. Laura@silkroadgourme
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 1:13 pm | Permalink

    Agree with all of the above – sumac. I recently re-analyzed some Mesopotamian tablets and found that one of the missing ingredients was sumac – so sumac may be trendy, but its got an ancient historical pedigree as well. . .

11. T.W. Barritt
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 2:57 pm | Permalink

    Very unusual! I will admit I’ve never seen anything like it. The suggestion of sumac makes sense, but I’ve never actually seen sumac.

12. Christine @ Fresh
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 9:07 pm | Permalink

    Well since everyone else says sumac, I’ll join the crowd. I hope you show more mysterious foods on your blog.

13. sare
    Posted June 27, 2012 at 5:42 am | Permalink

    Sumac, of course. I’ll pick or buy some to make my own sumac powder this year.

14. usha
    Posted June 27, 2012 at 9:05 am | Permalink

    Most certainly….sumac.
    Else, it’s some kind of fungus..ha ha !

15. Suha
    Posted June 27, 2012 at 2:01 pm | Permalink

    Joumana, I love your website and your blogs.. I am a Lebanese American too and live in Alexandria, VA. I am a foodie lover tooo and a creative cook, and I am pursueing my culinary diploma too. I saw the Sumac wild plant picture and was sooo refreshed, I love this versatile condiment. Glad you talked about the new book of Salma Abdelnoor. I am leaving to Beirut soon and will look for it in the book stores.
    Thank you for enlightening us all the time.. Good luck in your pursuits.

16. Joumana
    Posted June 27, 2012 at 2:07 pm | Permalink

    @Suha: Thank you so much for your warm praise! Enjoy your time in Beirut!

17. Kathleen
    Posted June 27, 2012 at 4:00 pm | Permalink

    Goodness gracious. I’ve always assumed sumac is a dried leaf. Wonderful information. I would love to see how it grows if you have the chance.

18. d
    Posted June 28, 2012 at 3:23 am | Permalink

    Having looked up Sumac this is obviously what it is, but I have never heard of it before!! Diane

19. Nuts about food
    Posted June 28, 2012 at 4:10 am | Permalink

    Had never seen a sumac plant!

20. Kristin
    Posted June 29, 2012 at 7:09 am | Permalink

    I did not know that this is what sumac looked like!

21. Susan
    Posted July 4, 2012 at 4:05 pm | Permalink

    It’s funny, we have sumac bushes growing in many places along the highways here that turn beautiful flame-red in the fall. Sadly, I had never heard of using sumac as a food until reading your blog.

22. Joumana
    Posted July 6, 2012 at 1:24 am | Permalink

    @Susan: Be careful, the sumac that grows in the US is deemed POISONOUS!!!!!!!!