What Is Sumac? Taste, Uses and Substitutes, Plus Sumac Onions

Sumac is a tangy, lemony, deep-red spice made from the dried, ground berries of the sumac shrub, usually Rhus coriaria. Cooks across the Levant, Turkey, Iraq and Iran use it to add sourness without liquid, from sumac onions with kebabs to fattoush and Palestinian musakhan. Here is what sumac is and tastes like, how to use it and what to use instead.

What is sumac?

The sumac spice comes mainly from the fruit of Rhus coriaria, a shrub or small tree in the cashew family. Kew’s Plants of the World Online gives its native range as Macaronesia (the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands) and the Mediterranean to Afghanistan, including Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iraq and Iran. The small, hairy berries grow in dense clusters, ripen dark red to purple and are dried and ground.

The Oxford Companion to Food notes that sumac soured food in classical Rome before the lemon was introduced, and that its modern use in the Middle East is most noticeable where lemons are scarce, such as remoter parts of Syria and northern Iraq. Lebanese cooks season fattoush with it, Turkish cooks often toss it with onion and parsley to serve with kebabs, and in Iran it is often kept on the table beside the salt and pepper.

What does sumac taste like?

Sumac tastes tangy and lemony, with a fruity sourness and a slightly drying finish. Harold McGee, in On Food and Cooking, traces the sourness to malic and other acids and the dryness to tannins, with pine, woody and citrus notes. A teaspoon of Greenfields Sumac brightens a salad without making it wet.

Sumac vs lemon and za’atar

The key difference from lemon is liquid: sumac sours food that should stay dry or crisp, such as grilled meat, toasted bread and sliced onion. Our za’atar guide compares sumac and za’atar in more detail.

How to use sumac

Sprinkle sumac on just before serving for the most colour and tang, or use it in rubs, marinades and dressings. For most dishes, allow roughly ½–1 teaspoon per person.

Sumac onions

A classic side for kebabs and grills. Serves 4.

1. Halve 2 medium red onions (about 300g) and slice them as thinly as you can.
2. Rub them with ½ teaspoon of salt for a minute, until they soften slightly; this takes the raw edge off.
3. Toss with 2 teaspoons of sumac until stained pink-red, then leave for 10 minutes.
4. Just before serving, stir in about 15g of chopped flat-leaf parsley and 1 tablespoon of olive oil or a squeeze of lemon if you like.

Eat them the same day, on kebabs or in wraps with homemade chicken shawarma.

Fattoush with a sumac and pomegranate molasses dressing

Fattoush is a Levantine salad of crunchy vegetables, herbs and crisp flatbread in a lemony dressing. Serves 4.

• Bread: tear 2 pitta breads into pieces, toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and bake at 200°C (180°C fan) for 8–10 minutes, until crisp.
• Salad: chop 1 cos lettuce, 3 tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 6 radishes and 4 spring onions, and add a handful each of parsley and mint.
• Dressing: whisk 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses, 1 small crushed garlic clove, 2 teaspoons of sumac, ½ teaspoon of dried mint, rubbed between your fingers, and ½ teaspoon of salt.

Toss together, adding the bread last so it stays crunchy, then finish with another teaspoon of sumac. Sera Pomegranate Molasses is thick, sweet and tangy, so add more lemon if you like it sharper; our pomegranate molasses guide has more uses.

Musakhan-style sumac chicken

Musakhan, which Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley call the national dish of Palestine in Falastin, is roast chicken on taboon flatbread with onions cooked in olive oil and plenty of sumac. It was traditionally made in autumn, when the new olive oil was pressed. This tray bake serves 4.

1. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Don’t wash the raw chicken: the Food Standards Agency warns that washing it can splash campylobacter bacteria onto hands, surfaces and equipment.
2. In a roasting tin, toss 8 bone-in chicken thighs (about 1.2kg) and 3 thinly sliced red onions with 5 tablespoons of fruity extra virgin olive oil, such as Al Quds Palestinian, 2 tablespoons of sumac, ½ teaspoon of ground allspice and 1½ teaspoons of salt.
3. Roast for 40–45 minutes, stirring the onions halfway. As the FSA advises, check the chicken is steaming hot all the way through, with no pink meat when you cut into the thickest part and juices running clear.
4. Serve on 4 warm flatbreads with the onions, pan juices, 2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts, parsley and a final teaspoon of sumac.

More ways to use sumac

• Kebabs and grills: scatter ½ teaspoon over each plate of grilled lamb, chicken or kofta, or add 2 teaspoons to a marinade for 500g of meat.
• Hummus and dips: drizzle olive oil over hummus, labneh or yoghurt and dust with ¼ teaspoon of sumac.
• Eggs: add a good pinch to fried eggs, shakshuka or avocado on toast.
• Rice: stir 1 teaspoon through buttered rice just before serving.
• Roast vegetables: toss 750g of cauliflower, squash or potatoes with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of sumac and salt, roast at 200°C (180°C fan) for 30–40 minutes, then add another ½ teaspoon.
• Dressings: whisk 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of sumac and a pinch of salt.
• Homemade za’atar: mix 2 tablespoons of dried thyme, 1 tablespoon each of sumac and toasted sesame seeds, and ½ teaspoon of salt.

What can I use instead of sumac?

No sumac substitute matches its dry, fruity tang exactly, so choose by its job in the recipe. For each teaspoon:

• To sprinkle: the finely grated zest of ½ lemon with a pinch of salt. It is more fragrant than sour, so add a few drops of juice if needed.
• In dressings, marinades and onions: 1–2 teaspoons of lemon juice or 1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar.
• On bread, eggs and roasts: 1–2 teaspoons of za’atar, which usually contains sumac but adds herbs, sesame and often salt. Greenfields Za’atar includes salt and contains sesame and wheat (gluten).
• For dry sourness: a tiny pinch of citric acid, though it has no fruitiness or colour. Abido Citric Acid (Lemon Salt) is strong, so add it a little at a time and taste as you go.

Buying and storing sumac

Look for a deep red to purple-red powder with a fruity, sharp smell; dull, brownish sumac may have lost flavour. Check the ingredients too, as any added salt changes how you season. Greenfields Sumac 75g is deep red and made with sumac and a little citric acid, with no added salt. None of the 14 major allergens are listed in its ingredients, but Greenfields states that some of its blends are made in a facility that also handles sesame, mustard and celery; if you have a severe allergy, check the pack label. Find it in our spices and herbs range.

Store it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight, reseal the pack or decant it into an airtight jar after opening, and keep it away from steam, which makes it clump.

We deliver to UK addresses only, with free delivery on orders over £45; see our delivery information.

Frequently asked questions

What is sumac called in the UK?

Simply sumac, sometimes spelled sumach, as the RHS does for the plant, which it calls tanner’s sumach. The name comes from the Arabic summāq, and you may also see it spelled somaq; say SOO-mak or SHOO-mak. The garden shrub stag’s horn sumach (Rhus typhina) is a relative, not the spice’s usual source.

Is sumac spicy?

No. Despite its red colour, sumac is sour rather than hot, so it adds a lemony lift for people who avoid spicy food. For gentle warmth as well, add a pinch of mild, fruity Aleppo chilli flakes over eggs, hummus or kebabs.

Is sumac the same as poison sumac?

No. Culinary sumac usually comes from Rhus coriaria, whose red fruits grow in dense clusters. Poison sumac is a different plant, Toxicodendron vernix, a shrub of swamps and bogs in eastern Canada and the eastern US. NC State Extension describes its dangling, yellowish-white berries and says it contains urushiol, the toxin also found in poison ivy, and that all parts of the plant are poisonous. Buy sumac sold as a food spice, and don’t forage for it.

How long does sumac last?

Go by the best before date on the pack. The Food Standards Agency’s food safety guide explains that a best before date is about quality, not safety: food is safe to eat afterwards but may not be at its best. For sumac, that can mean duller colour and less tang. Throw it away if it has got damp, gone mouldy or smells musty.

Is sumac the same as paprika?

No. Both are red powders, but paprika is ground red pepper: Abido Sweet Paprika is mild and fruity, while hot paprika has a kick. Sumac is made from sumac berries and tastes sour, so one cannot stand in for the other.