Sumacade with Lemon and Maple Syrup - Recipe
Snub November's gloom with our sumacade (sumac lemonade) recipe that you can enjoy chilled after a worktout or warm, wrapped up cozy near the wood stove.
Belonging to the Anacardiaceae family, staghorn sumac is a shrub with deciduous, long leaves. It is native to North America.
The fruit of the staghorn sumac is edible. First Nations peoples have always eaten them. They taste vinegary and lemony.
Sumac is antimicrobial and contains a lot of vitamin C. This is one of the reasons that sumac is also used to relieve sore throats. Like many wild medicinal and edible plants, sumac also has antioxidant properties. Careful, you must only eat the fruit and no other parts of the plant (it is poisonous).
Send us photos of your sumacade, we hope this recipe will give you some energy!
Julie
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 liters of cold water
- 3 bunches of red sumac berries
- The juice of 1 lemon (optional)
- Maple syrup (to taste)
Directions
- Take a walk outside to find a staghorn sumac
- Harvest a dozen bunches of sumac berries (you can freeze them)
- Mix all the ingredients in a glass jar
- Leave to steep in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours
- Enjoy either in a tall glass with ice cubes, or warmed through in your favourite mug
- Take it out with you, using our reusable mason jar lids!