Sumac-ade! Tangy, Healthy and Perfect for Summer

A Cool Twist  for Sumac Tea

From Bazaar Spices, special to EdibleDC

Here's Sumac-ade! A tart, revitalizing tea to tantalize the taste buds this summer.

What is sumac? If you love Middle Eastern food, you've eaten it. Sumac is one of the main ingredients in the spice mix za'atar and is used as the topping that gives fattoush salad its zing. The deep red berries are often ground coarsely, they grown on the sumac bush, native to the Middle East. But you can also use them whole, and can find them at Bazaar Spices.

Sumac has a tangy, lemony taste and is known to have very high antioxidant properties.

Now you can tap into the power of sumac in a refreshing drink. A wild mix of zante currants, sumac berries and cloves produces an incredible depth of flavor - fruity, sweet and ever so sharp. In addition to serving up high levels of antioxidants, this unique combination will cool the body and also contains anti-bacterial and anti-fungal cleansing properties which will promote detoxification. We all need a little of that, right?

Sumac-Ade

To prepare one gallon, 8 hour steep best made overnight :

1 cup currants 1 cup sumac berries 1 tablespoon cloves

Let steep for eight hours at room temperature, strain and serve chilled.

Visit Bazaar Spices at the Atlantic Plumbing Building or Union Market.