Cured Sumac
Tart, wine-red flakes that live by the pass
We earn a commission. It never changes the price you pay.
Cured sumac from Burlap & Barrel comes in coarser, oilier flakes than the dusty jar sold at most restaurant supply houses. That cure keeps the berries from drying to powder, so you get a sharper hit of citrus-like tartness and a deep maroon color that actually shows up on the plate instead of fading to brown. Use it the way you’d use a squeeze of lemon at the end of a dish: over grilled lamb, roasted eggplant, yogurt sauces, or a plate of hummus that needs some acid and color. A pinch goes on right before the dish leaves the kitchen, not during cooking, since heat flattens the tartness fast.
Every line needs something to throw on a plate at the last second that adds brightness without reaching for another lemon. This does that job and holds its color under heat lamps, which the cheap ground stuff does not. It earns a spot in the small containers near the pass, not buried in the dry storage rack.
