Cooking with Sumac: The Secret Spice

If you have ever eaten a fattoush salad and wondered what gives it that sharp, wine-like tang — it was sumac. Ground from the dried berries of the Rhus coriaria shrub, sumac has been used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking for over three thousand years, long before lemons arrived in the region.

The flavour is best described as tart without being sour, fruity without being sweet. It wakes up a dish rather than dominating it — brightening lamb, cutting through rich tahini, lifting the earthy weight of roasted vegetables.

At Antalya, we use sumac in more ways than most diners realise. It goes into our marinades for grilled chicken, dusted over hummus alongside olive oil and za'atar, stirred through yoghurt dressings, and used as a finishing spice on grilled fish. Its deep ruby-red colour also makes every plate look more alive.

One of the simplest ways to understand sumac is to try it on raw onions. Slice a red onion thinly, toss generously with sumac and a pinch of salt, and let it sit for fifteen minutes. The sumac draws out the sharpness of the onion and leaves something mellower, brighter, and almost floral. This simple preparation — called "piyaz" in Turkish — appears alongside countless dishes across Anatolia.

Next time you visit, look for the ruby-red dust on your plate. That is sumac, and it is doing more work than you think.