Sumac Lemonade

This is my next installment of my sustainable foraging line and it utilizes beautiful ruby red sumac berries! Sumac grows in subtropical and temperate regions, this includes North America, Australia, East Africa, and the Middle East. Sumac berries grow on shrubs or small trees and grow to be around 6ft tall, the berries themselves grow in bright red clusters. They are described as having a lemony tang to them as well as the sweet bitterness you would find in grapefruits. These berries are very commonly found in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food, often in dry rubs, curing salts, and is often used as a replacement for citrus in various recipes. There as also many health benefits associated with sumac berries, including cardiovascular health, reduce inflammation, and can help reduce the appearance of varicose veins.

You can harvest sumac berries quite easily, as stated before they grow on trees or shrubs in large bright clusters. The trees themselves are often found in open fields, open spaces, or the edges of forests. Since they don’t grow to be very tall and require a lot of sunlight to mature they are rarely seen in mature forests. You can spot a sumac tree in the fall by its bright red leaves and dense branches, and in the winter and spring you will be able to see the clusters of berries. To harvest the berries you will want to snap the branch right under the cluster of berries. This will not affect future growth of the plant or damage the tree.

I like to remove the berries from the cluster before making the lemonade, you can leave them bunched together its more about personal preference. I find I get a slightly better colour when I remove the berries. To remove the berries I just message the clusters and the berries just fall apart, they have a very interesting texture, it is fuzzy and a little bit sticky. Once you have all the berries separated they can be dried and stored for up to two years, you can either leave them whole or grind them into a powder.

Ingredients

1 Cup Sumac Berries

6 Lemons (Sliced)

1/2 - 1 1/2 Cups of Agave Syrup (You can also use honey or white sugar)

3 Mandarin Oranges (Optional, they were just sitting on my counter)

6 Cups of Water

Method

Slice all the lemons into thin rounds, juice the mandarins make sure to keep the peel too, add everything to a pot and give a quick stir to incorporate everything. Bring the mixture up to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until the lemons are soft and the liquid is a nice pink colour. The the mixture to cool completely then strain into a clean container and refrigerate.