# Sumac berries wanted



## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

Hello,

I was hoping to gather some wild sumac berries this summer, but the patch I've been watching did not fruit this year. 

Anyone have access to a patch of sumac with ripe berries that they will not be using?

Here is a link to a site with a description of smooth sumac:
http://www.nwplants.com/business/catalog/rhu_gla.html

Any type with red berries (not the ones with white berries!!!) is fine, though.

I will be using the berries to harvest the outer red coating for sumac spice (great on rice, kabobs, etc...).

If you are interested in a trade for something (seeds, garlic bulbils, scion wood, etc...), please let me know.

Thank you,
KB


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## Pamela (May 10, 2002)

Let me see what the sumac patch is doing, if they have berries, etc..... it has been such a weird weather year.... I will check them out tomorrow.


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

We have a spectacular showing on our staghorns this year...how much do you want?


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

Snapped a pic of it for you, there's about an 1/8th of an acre of it like this


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

Part of the patch


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## HerseyMI (Jul 22, 2012)

How much do you want or need? We're loaded with them here.


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

Never knew about using sumac berries for spice, I've heard of sumac "lemon" aid and they are good for dyeing traps.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

We just went to a wild edibles class- and had Sumac Lemonade- 
the teacher had basically just put the berries in a regular coffee pot where you would put the coffee grounds and brewed it then chilled it!


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

Thanks for all the responses and interest!

Here are a couple of links to ways to process the sumac berries for spice and ways to use the spice in different dishes:
http://www.pennilessparenting.com/2012/08/foraging-sumac-edible-wild-plant.html

http://poxacuatl.wordpress.com/2010/05/31/rediscovering-sumac/

I probably won't use more than a few cups of spice for my first run this year. 

So... maybe however many bunches of ripe sumac berries could fit in a small flat rate priority box?

I am big on trading (see the OP for examples) and have a good diversity of seeds and scion wood, so post or send me a PM with your interests. Hopefully we can work something out!


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

Tiempo said:


> Snapped a pic of it for you, there's about an 1/8th of an acre of it like this


Gorgeous pics of the sumac, Tiempo!

Reminds me of the patches of staghorn sumac at my family's old farm by Gladwin...


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

A small flat rate box is pretty tiny, would you want the berries still in bunches or pulled off loose ..more would fit that way?


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

I don't think the berries (drupes?) will need to come off the stem for shipping. It will probably be easier to get them off once the bunches are fully dried and ready for processing on my end.

I think they will just *smush* into the box once they dry down for a day or so.

Thank you very much!


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## Pamela (May 10, 2002)

Tiempo, your sumac far surpasses ours! Went and looked it over this am, we are in a drought, and the berries are very small and dry. Not big and lush like yours!


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## CJBegins (Nov 20, 2009)

I am shocked that there is some use for these things. We have bunches of them here also.


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

Pamela said:


> Tiempo, your sumac far surpasses ours! Went and looked it over this am, we are in a drought, and the berries are very small and dry. Not big and lush like yours!


Thank you for checking on your sumac, Pamela


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

CJBegins said:


> I am shocked that there is some use for these things. We have bunches of them here also.


I know - I had always just heard about the lemonade substitute. After trying the spice version many years later, I was hooked. Then after trying to find a good source for middle eastern sumac spice, I heard that the north american types are actually supposed to be more strongly flavored.

Give it a try!


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