Unlocking a new Flavor: How to Prepare and Use Staghorn Sumac as a Spice

As a forager, Winter time can be a struggle. Outside is cold, dry or damp and often covered in snow.

During the warm months of last year, I decided to save certain things so I could use them as winter projects. My thinking was, if I could dry certain things properly during the warm months, I could finish processing them in the winter when foraging is at a lull and I would still be able to feel the connection to the forest and the warm weather.

One such project was the processing of the Staghorn Sumac for food seasoning.

Staghorn Sumac(Rhus Typhina) is a native species of plant that is related to the more commonly cultivated culinary sumac(Rhus Coriaria). Both of these plants have a sour, bright, and piquant flavor. 

The flavor compounds in Sumac plants are very water soluble and thus, plants for food should be picked after the weather has been dry for several days. 

While Sumac plants in the Rhus Genus are by and large edible and can be used for culinary applications, there is a plant called poison sumac(toxicodendron vernix). This plant has a different genius, toxicodendron, and is easily distinguished from its edible counterparts. 

The key is to look at the latin name of the genius of each plant. Edible Sumac is in the Rhus genus and the poison sumac is in the toxicodendron genus. Rhus is a word for red in latin and it refers to the red color the edible berries all share. The poison berries are white. The edible red berries grow pointing up and the toxic white berries will be pointing down. Keep this in mind when harvesting your sumac.

Berries can be dried in a paper bag and processed during the winter or can be processed directly. 

To process the berries:

Separate them from the stems and remove any dirt or dead bugs. DO NOT WASH. Water will remove the flavor from the sumac and make it pointless as a spice. If any are too dirty or buggy, discard them. 

Pulverize the berries in an electric spice grinder. This will remove the edible outer flavor from the very hard inner seed. 

Next you will need to separate the flavoring from the seed. I would suggest a sieve. This will allow the edible seasoning to fall into a bowl while the inedible seeds remain in the sieve. 

Once you have processed all your sumac. Store the powder in a jar and label it with the date. This will keep for quite a while. However I ask you to be mindful; do not pick more than you will reasonably use in 2 years. These are native plants and are consistently harvestable. 

Sometimes one year is a less bountiful harvest than others and by collecting enough for two years you are keeping yourself stocked and also not over harvesting from our native plants. Happy Foraging!

To watch me processing these berries, click here!