Uses for a Sour Sumac Reduction

Last fall I got a whole bunch of staghorn sumac fruits from the roadside on my trip to Massachusetts, then I brought them back home to NJ. What I did was I soaked them all for a day in water, then I boiled that water down to a concentrated "essence of sumac", basically a light brown sour tasting liquid. Then I put the concentration is a jar in the fridge, thinking I'd use it sometime in the winter.

Now I KNOW there's gotta be some uses for a unique sour taste like that, but I just can't think of any. Anyone have any ideas?

Beats me.. If we have those out here, I don't know about them.  I kinda lean towards sweet stuff instead of sour.  Could you use it in some kind of oriental cabbage type dish?

Off the top of my head, I'd say -

Add it to a gin and tonic for a sour kick.  Other mixed drinks of sorts.

Use it to replace lemon juice in hummus dip.

Make an interesting dessert with it (think of lemon poppyseed cake, key-lime pie, ect..)

you know, replace sour with sour!

I've had Sumac water and just drank it like lemonade, but I'd never thought of reducing it. Very interesting!.

In my family, we use it frequently.
Wait it in water for 1-2 hours then use this water for cooking eggplant, green pepper and tomatoes.
Don't forget to use red pepper flakes with sumac.
You get a hot and sour taste. I like it!

Well it's supposed to make a lemonade substitute when fresh.  You can get it in a dried form at middle eastern groceries mixed with herbs and spices (mostly thyme k thknk).  it's called zatar and is great on flatbread.

Thanks, these are all great ideas. For anyone with sumac in their area, I encourage you to try this too.

People in the middle east add sumac to lamb and tomato dishes.  Its really delicious.

christhamrin wrote:
Well it's supposed to make a lemonade substitute when fresh.  You can get it in a dried form at middle eastern groceries mixed with herbs and spices (mostly thyme k thknk).  it's called zatar and is great on flatbread.

Zatar is typically a blend of middle-eastern marjoram, sesame seeds, salt and other flavorings.

The sumac is also available in middle-eastern groceries - it is a dark red, dried seasoning called semet. Pronounced like "cement" without the "n."

Definitely tart and sprinkled as a garnish on appetizers like hummus and baba ganoush.