Sumac Master Chef

[swampratt]

No not the poison plant, the one with lovely lemony berries.

I was watching Master Chef and one of the dishes (birds) being made was seasoned with salt pepper and sumac..
WWWWAAAAAA!
A spice!!!.
OK so i looked it up and sure enough my favorite berry for making a wonderful tea can be ground and turned into a citrus flavored spice...AWESOME! read here ..
Such a wonderful plant ..so tasty is the tea made from the berries when out fishing or hunting.
Or just enjoy the berries plain.
But now i will be attempting to make a spice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumac

 

[dennishoddy]

I know where tons of sumac are. Seems that's where I also find quail.

Looking at the map, none of the poison stuff is in Oklahoma.
I"m gonna have to try some of this.

 

[AKguy1985]

The tea is pretty good. We made it when we were kids.

 

[swampratt]

yep there is a difference in smooth sumac and poison sumac.
If you try the berries get them before the sun dries them out..
They should be moist and sticky....you will see white sticky on them when they are best.. all that sweet lemony sugar glistening on them in the sun.... that is when they are best.

Dried up hard ones not so good.

 

[BadgeBunny]

Hmmmm ... I've always wondered about this. There is a TON of sumac over around the lake. Are you guys SURE there is no poisonous sumac in Oklahoma?

 

[Bluewing]

Hmmmm ... I've always wondered about this. There is a TON of sumac over around the lake. Are you guys SURE there is no poisonous sumac in Oklahoma?

If it looks like a grape vine BUT HAS HAIR......it is POISON SUMAC. trust me. my brother was cutting a large vine from between the fork on a tree where we had built a tree stand for bow season. i'm standing close and my sister and brother in-law standing up the hill from us. thier property. sister whistles over the chainsaw, i go up to her, she says "you know thats POISON SUMAC don't you?" I brushed the shavings off my arm and neck. every place i tried to bush it off, i broke out. Doc said it is worse than poison ive. I have never had anything before that. It broke out on me in the same places for the next 4 years. must have been in the wind. It took 2 shots and 2 rounds of steriod packs to get rid of it. The kicker was it was September. hot as all get out, i was sweating bad and got into about 50 seed ticks. everywhere one of those suckers bit me the sumac broke out. It will break out in a vine shaped line on your skin. Sis gets it every fall if she isn't careful, from doing my brother-in-laws clothes. Oklahoma has Sumac vine, bush, and tree. This is the first i've heard of somone harvesting berrys. Good luck to you. Me, if it looks like Sumac, i'm headed for the herbicide.

 

[swampratt]

I last researched this in the late 1980's early 1990's
One thing for sure they are 2 completely different animals so to say...
Now to research again. this is good..

http://www.poison-sumac.org/
and this
http://www.wikihow.com/Identify-Poison-Sumac

I have an older north america plant book.. one botanist took a single poison ivy plant and grew other poison ivy plants from it. he then took the plants and subject some to a dry climate, and others to a little more wet climate..

To his not so amazement the dry climate plant morphed or turned into poison oak.. the others stayed poison ivy.
he stated he had his feelings about this.

some more good reading .
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep220

 

[dennishoddy]

I last researched this in the late 1980's early 1990's
One thing for sure they are 2 completely different animals so to say...
Now to research again. this is good..

http://www.poison-sumac.org/

I saw an inaccuracy in that link.

Poison oak, is a vine that climbs trees, Poison Ivy is a stand alone plant. Same basic plant, but cousins.

This is a Quote from the link: Poison oak does grow as a vine or a shrub, but never an actual tree.

 

[swampratt]

I have never seen poison OAK
but i can say the poison IVY will grow like a tree..This i know...
And it will also grow as a vine right up a tree....This i know...
It is a very adaptable plant...I have even come to recognize the bare tree in the winter..

Now i just believe 1/2 of what i read... I usually give a link to some things ,, but mostly for the pictures.
It is up to the user to decide if the vine or tree is in your area.

I agree with you dennishoddy, some write ups are a bit off sometimes.

I do know a cure for the stuff where you will never get a rash from it again..
At least for younger children..

 

[BadgeBunny]

I have never seen poison OAK
but i can say the poison IVY will grow like a tree..This i know...
And it will also grow as a vine right up a tree....This i know...
It is a very adaptable plant...I have even come to recognize the bare tree in the winter..

Now i just believe 1/2 of what i read... I usually give a link to some things ,, but mostly for the pictures.
It is up to the user to decide if the vine or tree is in your area.

I agree with you dennishoddy, some write ups are a bit off sometimes.

I do know a cure for the stuff where you will never get a rash from it again..
At least for younger children..

Care to share?

I have 3 boys ... a blonde with medium-complexion, a brunette with dark-complexion, and a pasty-white redhead. The redhead has NEVER gotten poison oak or ivy. The blonde, only if he comes in direct contact with a plant and he rubs or scratches before he washes. The brunette? That poor kid just has to LOOK at a poison ivy or oak plant and he is breaking out ... And not just a little bit ... I mean it speads like WILDFIRE on him. Poor kid will haul himself to the ER for a steriod shot after he has showered because he knows if he waits until the next day he's gonna look like a leper ...