Harvesting Sumac

After finding the information about Sumac that I shared in this article, and more, I knew I wanted to gather some that was growing wild. I asked Trey if we could do it together and he thought it sounded like fun. A few days passed before we had the opportunity, but finally the perfect evening presented itself.

The air was crisp and cool but with enough warmth left that we could leave our jackets at home. Of course, Shelby, the cats, and Sadie (my parents dog that we are dog-sitting until they get settled into there new place) had to come along.

We enjoyed a peaceful walk on our path through the woods that led to the open meadow where we found wild sumac growing.

It was lots of fun and oh so relaxing! My mouth waters just writing about it as I recall licking my malic acid covered fingers while harvesting the clusters.

We harvested two cloth sacks full!

Part of the sumac that we gathered is in the process of drying and I plan to grind it into a powder to use as a spice. As I write, I am in the process of making sumac juice. Here is an excellent link that tells how! 

These are a few of the recipes that I would like to try! They sound so yummy!

Sumac Jelly: Take prepared juice and use the Sure-Jell recipe for elderberry jelly. Add 3 cups juice and sweeten. Leave out the lemon juice.

Sumac Jello: Mix the prepared juice with unflavored gelatin per instruction on package and sweeten.

Sumac Rubber Candy: Mix one cup of sweetened juice, with two envelopes of gelatin. Pour into an 8×8 or 8×10 inch baking pan and refrigerate for an hour or more. Cut and serve.

I hope to try these recipes and more!