Wild Sumac

[TastyofHasty]

The sumac berries seem to be awfully thick and big this year. I was just reading that sumac is also called "squaw bush" and has medicinal qualities.
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=37322
http://www.gcrg.org/bqr/14-4/squaw.html
I've used the berries for making "sumac lemonade" which was pretty good. Yesterday I made pickled beets, & almost ran out of vinegar ... I wonder ... if sumac berry juice (which is very sour) could be used for pickled beets like vinegar?? A sort of vinegar substitute?

[Lavandula Girl]

I think you'd need to know the acidity, right? Vinegar isn't used for pickling just for the taste, but for it's other properties. Maybe a litmus test? I'll bet you can get litmus paper pretty easily. Not sure how scientific the home test would be, though. If you do it with the sumac instead of vinegar, I'd only consider doing short shelf pickles, like refrigerate and eat them soon! I'd definitely get the science right before I pressure canned them and stored them for the winter....

[TastyofHasty]

There are SO MANY sumac berries out there! Today, I brought about 2/3 of a Wal-Mart bag of sumac berries (with as much of their branches cut off as possible) back to the house; snipped as much of the branches off as I easily could with scissors, packed half of 'em into a pot with 2 cups of cold water, brought it just to a boil, turned off heat. Smushed the berries into the water with a potato masher the whole time. Let it sit about 10 minutes, smushed it again, then sieved out the water (now nice pink "sumac juice") and put the other half of the sumac berries in the pot, poured all my newly made sumac juice over them, (plus a little more water 'cause there were more berries this time) and brought back to boil again, smushed 'em again, let sit another 10 minutes, sieved it again. Tested it for taste against my store-bought cider vinegar. Sourness was just about even ... to my taste. (and that means S-O-U-R!!!) So I made sumac jelly. :D

Searching for acidity tests on the 'net, found this, for vinegar, but it ought to work for sumac juice too:
From http://www.deliberatelife.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=598

To test your vinegar to make sure it is strong enough (titration):

1. Mix a small amount of baking soda in water in a small jar. There should be enough soda that some of it settles to the bottom.

2. Steam a head of cabbage in a little water and keep the juice (make sure it is very purple liquid). Pour this juice in another jar.

3. Add a few ounces of water to two drinking glasses, making sure they're equal to each other. Using an eyedropper, add enough cabbage juice to each of the glasses to make them purple (put the same amount in each).

5. Rinse the dropper, and then put seven drops of five grain store-bought vinegar into one of the glasses of purple water.

6. Rinse the dropper and add seven drops of the homemade vinegar to the other glass.

7. Rinse the dropper, and then add 20 drops of baking soda water to the store-bought vinegar mixture. This will turn the water blue.

8. Add baking soda one drop at a time to the homemade vinegar mixture, counting each drop, until it is the same color blue as the store-bought one.

9. To calculate the acidity, divide the number of drops you used by four. 30 drops divided by 4 = 7.5% acidity.

Just not ready to sacrifice a head of cabbage yet. :D I DO have some rather severely bug-eaten red cabbage out in the garden I GUESS I could use ... what better cause than science??? (Oh yeah, and not at all sure we have an eyedropper) ... (maybe tomorrow) ...

Anyway, the jelly is going to be "tart but delicious," I think.

[bluelacedredhead]

Don't want to sacrifice your own cabbage Tasty? Go buy a yucky tasteless one at Wallyworld to use for the acidity test! :)

[TastyofHasty]

Yeah, the bugs and/or bug bites might alter the acidity! :) Did u just say GO to Wallyworld? (That's what I call it, too, BTW.) Wonder if they HAVE red cabbage at Wallyworld? I am going to have to scrounge around for an eyedropper first ... then prob'ly just chop off a PART of one of my red cabbages to use for this test ...

[bluelacedredhead]

Tasty, I just found a book that you might be interested in? Author Blanche Pownall Garrett published a few books in the 70's about cooking with wild ingredients. She lived about 2 hours from me, and although I never met the woman, I was given two of her books (autographed copies) by a family member for Christmas 1976.
When you started this thread about sumac, I pulled out my books to read through the info. (check your PM's too).

But just in case you (or anyone else here of course)might be interested in obtaining one of her books, I did a search for same. Found one...must be others out there somewhere?? I haven't checked Abes or Alibris yet..that might be another source..or of course ebay?

http://www.shoppalstores.com/MarikaBook/index.cfm/fa/categories.main/parentcat/14967

[TastyofHasty]

Bluelaced, I looked on eBay but they don't have it. Lucky you, and is this woman still around?

I checked sumac on the 'net today ... the sourness comes from VITAMIN C! and the leaves, root, bark, and berries are all useful for various medicinal purposes. And the Indians smoked the leaves alone or with their tobacco ...

From: http://www.geocities.com/littleflowers_2000/staghornsumac.html

"Sumack likewise grows here in great plenty; the leaf of which, gathered at Michaelmas when it turns red, is much esteemed by the native. They mix about an equal quantity of it with their tobacco, which causes it to smoke pleasantly. . . .

"An Indian carries pouch and pipe with him wherever he goes, for they are indispensable. For state occasions they may have an otter skin pouch or a beaver-pouch or one decorated with coral, made by the women. Sometimes they have a buffalo horn, from which a pouch, made possible of tanned dear-skin, depends. In the pouches they carry tobacco, fire materials, knife and pipe. Sumac is generally mixed with tobacco or sumac smoked without tobacco, for but few can stand smoking pure tobacco...The women...many of them though not all smoking tobacco." 1779 Zeisberger DELAWARE 115.

I think the variety mostly around here is rhus glabra (smooth sumac).

The Indians also used to dry the berries and store them for use during the winter. As for making the sour "sumac juice," some webpages say not to heat them, but just soak in cold water overnight; others say bring to boil for stronger solution.

BTW ... today I made PICKLED EGGS ... used half cider vinegar, half sumac juice ... gives 'em a nice pink color, too ... along with the cayenne pepper.

[bluelacedredhead]

PINK Pickled Eggs? OMG, People in these parts make them with pickle juice causing them to go green..Me?? I just pickle them with white vinegar and lots of spices..causing them to become volatile :o

As for Ms. Garrett? I don't know if she's still around? I'll try and find out and maybe find you a book too. :)

[johno]

I've been reading this thread from the beginning and I have to say, this is weird. All my life everybody around here has said sumac is poisonous... You learn something new every day, huh? Sounds good, though. But I will proceed with caution (ha ha.)

[bluelacedredhead]

JOhn, the poisonous one is the White Sumac.
I know, my parents always told me to stay away from sumac's in general because they obviously didn't know the difference. Mom didn't always know best (she just thought she did, lol).
The Red Staghorn sumac, a large fernstyle leaved bush is the one being discussed here as suitable for syrups, beverages and jellies..

If you or anyone else is interested, I have a few recipes for beverages, jellies and sidedishes I could share. Let me know.

[TastyofHasty]

I read on one webpage that "if the sumac has red berries, it is NOT poisonous." and another one said something about the berries turn red when they are pollinated. Anyway, the sumac I've been messing around with is NOT staghorn (we have some of that around here, but this has a wider mass of berries, I think it's "smooth sumac.") ... and we have experienced no ill effects. In fact, I'm thinking about maybe marking the ones with red berries, so as not to confuse 'em when it gets Michaelmas time ... (just looked it up ... September 29th) ... and I go out and pick sumac leaves for drying ... and playing around with mixing it with our smokin' tobacco ... it's supposed to IMPROVE it!! (BTW I only smoke about 1 cigarette a day. :cool: ) Wonder what I can mark the bushes WITH?? Something purple or blue ... that can be seen easily in autumn colors of yellow & orange. I'm going out today to pick a rather large load of sumac berries to try DRYING 'em.

The joys of country living ;) !

[bluelacedredhead]

I know I've been a little slow, but here's a couple of sumac recipes from Ms.Garrett's book.

Sumac & Apricot Salad
Soften 1 envelope unflavored gelatine in
2 tbsp cold water.
Heat to steaming

3/4 cup sumac syrup
2 tbsp lemon juice

Drain
1 tin of apricot halves (reserving liquid)
Add to the above juices,
3/4 cup apricot juice

Pour into a bowl and chill. When it begins to thicken, fold in the drained apricots. Pour into a mold and chill until set.
Unmold onto a bed of lettuce and serve with a bowl of Nutmeg Dressing (below)

Nutmeg Dressing
In a bowl, combine
1/2 cup commercial sour cream
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground nutmeg


Sumac & Plum Jelly
Pit 1 quart of large sweet blue plums
Place ina large saucepan and pour 1 cup water over them.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
Drain off the juice thru a colander, then strain thru a cloth, reserving the pulp*

In a preserving kettle, combine
2 cups plum juice
4 cups sumac juice
1 pkg pectin crystals
Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly.
Then add,
6 cups white sugar
Boil hard for 1 minute or until it tests for set. Pour into sterilized jars and seal. Makes approx 8 pints or 16 jelly jars

* Mix the reserved pulp with 1 cup sweetened applesauce, the grated peel of an orange, 2 tbsp flour and 2 tbsp sugar and use as pie filling in a lattice topped or double crust pie.

[bluelacedredhead]

Hey Tasty, the plot thickens. :|
I was looking up number of seeds per pound in forage crops (Successful Small Scale Farming by Karl Schwenke Gardenway 1979) and under Sorghum, there is a listing for Sorgo with Sumac in brackets beside the entry????
So I did a quick google last night and did actually come up with a pic that looks like a sumac. Check it out..Used by malevolent witches in Italian folklore?? Wonder what that was all about?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghum

[TastyofHasty]

Bluelaced, great minds think alike(?) ... hey, sumac jello! wow.

Sumac & sorghum is SOUR & SWEET ... one of the most popular taste combinations!

Checked out the Wickipedia article on sorghum (I think my chickens planted a little of it in the back yard, BTW, out of their chicken feed)! Interestingly, it says:

Recently, however, the US Congress passed the Renewable Fuels Standard, with the goal of producing 30 billion litres (8 billion gallons) of renewable fuel (ethanol) annually by 2012. This bill should noticeably increase the demand for ethanol producing crops for at least the next decade. Sorghum produces the same amount of ethanol per unit as maize, therefore in hot areas where sorghum can out produce maize this bill should result in an increase in grain sorghum cultivation. Sorghum growers are hoping that this will create just the market they need to take off with production. Currently, 12% of grain sorghum production in the US is used to make ethanol, and growers are hoping for an increase.

This is very much the same idea I've been kind of banging around in the ol' noggin (woke up thinking "Mangel Wurzels!") thinking about ... they need a cheap source of sugar ... to make ethanol ... has anybody ever crossed sugar beets with mangel wurzels (super big fodder beets)!!!? ... what would Radiator Charlie do!!!? :D BANG! ... and what about a solar still! BANG! and what about using that tip-tilted huge parabolic dish that brings things up to 800+ degrees ... BANG! BONG!!! URK. Save the USA!!! ... enuff with the banging and the bonging ... now to get DH GOING ... (the HARD part!!) ... I think I'll go post a few questions about mangel wurzels in a new thread ... :) bong ... did Ms. Garrett post any recipes for APPLES & sumac? I've got a treefull of slightly spotty Granny Smiths to do something with. please forgive me I'm getting a bit bong-y ... :D

[TastyofHasty]

UMMM ... I meant ... Save the World!

[Soapymomma]

yeah , we wait for the season too, we love sumac tea!

[TastyofHasty]

I think sumac tea gives you a really nice sort of "High-Vitamin-C" feeling. Taste of sumac is fruity-winey, and very Vitamin C-sour. Add sugar to taste and you have a really nice tea.

We're presently drinking up a big jug of Sumac Sun Tea ... made by putting about 1/3 jar of sumac berries into a sun tea jar, filling with water, leaving in sun for 2 days (and 1 night) ... mashed 'em with a slotted spoon the second morning, mash again before straining out the berries, add sugar. Yum! ;)

Have you-all read on the 'net about some Nobel Prize winner in 2001 or thereabouts discovering that vitamins and enzymes and minerals and such need what he called "chaperones" to get to the right places where they're needed in our bodies? Which explains why eating the whole vegetable or herb or berry rather than just taking a vitamin supplement is much more useful to your body ... that without the "chaperones," the minerals etc. float around in the body and land who-knows-where ... which is why we should be rather careful with calcium tablets, for instance ... arthritis. And a good reason to drink your "C" from a natural source.

[TastyofHasty]

Just got at garage sale a new book: Common and Uncommon Uses of Herbs for Healthful Living, by Richard Lucas. In a chapter called "Herbal Smoking Substitutes for Tobacco," he mentions Sumach (Rhus glabra) ...

Charles F. Millspaugh, M.D., gave the following information in his American Medicinal Plants, printed in 1887:

The berries of sumach (Rhus glabra) when dried, form an article of trade in Canada, known as sacacomi. This when smoked as a substitute for tobacco is said to antidote the habit. The Western Indians make a preparation of equal parts of the roots, leaves and of tobacco, which they smoke under the name of Kinikah.

Another interesting account of sumach berries was cited in the Historical Dictionary, 1813:

It has long been the practice among the natives of this continent, to substitute the sumach berry for tobacco, and the secret has been transmitted to Europe; in consequence of which it became so universally esteemed there by people of fashion and fortune, that large sums were offered to persons of mercantile professions, for this valuable but common production of nature. It has been preferred to the best manufactured Virginia tobacco. The method to be pursued in preparing the sumach berry to a proper state for smoking is to procure it in the month of November, expose it some time to the open air, spread it very thin on canvas, and then dry it in an oven, one-third heated. After having completed the progress of the cure thus far, spread it again on canvas, as before; there let it remain 22 hours, when it will be perfectly fit for use.

In writing on the uses of sumach by the American Indians, Hunter says, "They consider it a principal article, next to tobacco, in the stores for the pipe; mixed with about an equal part of tobacco, it forms one of their most fashionable treats." The Tewa Indians dried the leaves and rolled them into cigarettes made of corn-husks or smoked them in pipes. It was also a favorite smoke of the Jicarilla Apache.

Today we mixed half, chopped up dried sumac leaves and half, tobacco, & smoked a cigarette made of it. It was good, kind of herby, but DH said it was "smooth." The above says pick the leaves in NOVEMBER. Another quote said MICHAELMAS (Sept. 29). I wonder if maybe they mean wait till the leaves turn red in the fall(?) Might not be quite so herby then.

[TastyofHasty]

It's sumac-time again, at least the berries are red and full on the sumac bushes.

Wanted to say, do NOT make pickled eggs with sumac juice. Although it is sour, it is also FRUITY tasting. Not good for pickled eggs.