603864 Sat Mar 14 23:18:22 -0700 2009 15 22 Quebec (including Montreal) 0 4506005 Hello fellow Montrealers. I've recently added sumac to my spice arsenal and recommend it to all of you. But since watching Friday's Colbert Report on CTV (hilarious, BTW) and hearing of the use of sumac berries in Persian cooking, I am very curious to hunt some down and try them in my cooking. Could some kind person divulge where they can be found? Thanks! Sat Mar 14 23:18:23 -0700 2009 269045 dmarg 1 4506162 First option would be to try the spice store at Jean-Talon Market (and the name escape me completly this morning, I feel inadequate). Sun Mar 15 05:01:47 -0700 2009 4506005 11828 Maximilien 2 4506185 Max, no need to feel inadequate! You are a trustworthy and generous CH... but perhaps Sundays mornings is just not a good time... I believe you are referring to Olive and Epices. Yes indeed, they might have it. If I go this morning, I will check if they have these babies. other places to try calling: Anatol, Marche Akhavan, Marche Adonis, just to name a few. I suspect there might be a few shops in Parc Extension that might have them too. Sun Mar 15 05:38:17 -0700 2009 4506162 89969 moh 1 4506186 --> re: JTM store - Olives et Épices? Iranian-family-owned, Marché Akhavan probably has the best selection of Persian products in the city - I'd try calling/visiting them. Locations in NDG & Pierrefonds. http://www.akhavanfood.com/main.shtml If you're experimenting with Persian cooking, you might also want to grab a bag of "zereshk" - small red berries also known as barberries that are used in a yummy chicken & rice dish called zereshk polo. Good luck & have fun! Sun Mar 15 05:38:48 -0700 2009 4506005 66614 kpzoo 1 4506495 Maybe from sumac trees, quite common in these parts. Looks kinda like a palm tree meets a fern plant, velvety bark on smaller branches. Sun Mar 15 08:36:20 -0700 2009 4506005 176627 porker 2 4510309 There are a lot of varieties of sumac, and some are toxic (they're related to poison oak), so I wouldn't harvest them unless I knew that I had the right variety. Mon Mar 16 14:08:20 -0700 2009 4506495 138816 jlafler 3 4510669 I think if they're red, like this http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/573091/sumac they're OK. I used to make tea with this as a kid and it grows pretty much all over. Poison sumac http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4H/poissuma.htm is obviously very different. Mon Mar 16 15:38:43 -0700 2009 4510309 176627 porker 1 4506651 I have purchase ground Sumac at Akhavan but am not sure I have ever seen the actual berries. I understand about buying whole spices as opposed to already ground (nutmeg, peppers, cumin etc.) but would it really matter with sumac? Do you intend to grind them? Sun Mar 15 09:43:22 -0700 2009 4506005 118582 maisonbistro 2 4507484 Thanks for everyone's help up to this point. I followed up your tip and went to Akhavan today, and although it was a fun shopping experience I could find no sumac berries. maisonbistro, you're prob right that I don't need the berries when using sumac as a spice, but I also wanted to try making sumac tea and I think that whole berries would be best for that. porker, I like your idea to just pinch some berries from a tree when I next see one growing in someone's garden. Good lateral thinking! Or I'll just visit Marché Jean-Talon. Sun Mar 15 15:46:40 -0700 2009 4506651 269045 dmarg 3 4507984 re: Akhavan - too bad! I'm just wondering - did you ask at the bulk counter? Or ask the manager? Often they have things hiding behind the counter (like a huge array of saffron) that you need to ask for. Anyway, good luck with your quest! Sun Mar 15 19:06:41 -0700 2009 4507484 66614 kpzoo 3 4508156 Dmarg, they have whole berries at Olives et Epices at Jean Talon Market. But they won't be that cheap! They will likely be very high quality. Sun Mar 15 20:09:33 -0700 2009 4507484 89969 moh 3 4508500 Something to bear in mind if you harvest your own: Sumac berries get most of their flavour from ascorbic acid which washes away when they get wet. So you have to get them when it hasn't rained for awhile and be comfortable with the fact that you can't clean them. Of course I read this about a thousand years ago and can't cite my source anymore so you might want to get a second opinion... Mon Mar 16 04:02:55 -0700 2009 4507484 129670 mellybean 4 4508688 Just be sure you don't pick a poison variety; I think those with white berries are poisonous. :) Mon Mar 16 06:20:58 -0700 2009 4508500 22036 Keramel 4 4509683 I believe that this is correct. In Maine, right around my house, we have a ton of sumac trees, and they are still covered with berries, but after the long winter, I suspect that they don't have mch flavor left. I'll try it and see. Mon Mar 16 11:27:15 -0700 2009 4508500 12205 sophie fox 3 4508871 Alas, according to http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/87/87-4/Sam_Thayer.html you should wait until after July for ripened berries Mon Mar 16 07:35:56 -0700 2009 4507484 176627 porker 1 4896220 I've noticed on my morning walks, the sumac berries are a beautiful red these days. Tue Jul 28 04:19:51 -0700 2009 4506005 176627 porker