We have staghorn sumac growing around our house and a developing interest in useing what is readily available for food/medicine, had me picking the red seed heads to see what could be done with them. Turns out a couple of things. Sumac "Lemonade" or sumacade is one that is refreshing and easy. Pick 4-5 seedheads and immersre in about a gallon of cold water. Using your hands gently sueeze the heads and let sit for a couple of hours to a couple of days. The longer it sits the stronger the taste. Very high in vitamin C. Important to do in cold water only. Heating the water will destroy the vitamin C content.
Strain out seeds and heads. You can use coffee filters for this. To drink you can chill, mix with more water, sparkling water for a spritzer. You can also add a sweetener if you wish.
Sumac seeds can also be dried and ground to a powder and used as a rub for meat. Used in the mideast and mediterranean for a very long time.
Be careful to not pick poison sumac which has white berries versus the red seedheads of staghorn sumac. Enjoy!!
thanks for that info on sumac, unfortunately I don't think it grows around here. I was in Ohio this past November and it was growing wild all over the place.
When we moved into our house a few years ago, nettle was growing all over the place...we've gotten rid of most of the nasty stuff but we have started to eat it too (it spreads by seed AND rhizome so be careful). Another plant we found in our yard is plaintain. http://wellnessmama.com/4638/herb-profile-plantain/ ...most people have this growing in their yards already, if not look for it and collect some seeds 🙂
One day, the lowly farmer will be King