Native Food of the Week!

Native Lands Restoration Collaborative interns are digging deep to learn more about native plants and share their experiences with our community! Our Nourishing Communities intern, Anne, has been studying native edible plants, how to identify, collect, and prepare food from them with our experienced staff. She'll be sharing recipes featuring native foods with all of you here, on the Nature Gang blog! Today's focal species is smooth sumac (Rhus glabra):

Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) is a native shrub with an interesting role on the prairie. In the absence of fire, this sumac species spreads rapidly across our native grasslands, potentially displacing prairie wildflowers and grasses. Many remnant prairies host a larger presence of sumac than they would have in the past - leaving land stewards scratching their heads about how to respectfully work with the shrubs once removed from the prairie. Historically found at the edges of woodlands and in spaces sheltered from fire, smooth sumac bears tart berries and striking fall color. The shrub provides food for many birds and mammals and hosts caterpillars of several butterflies and moths, including the red-banded hairstreak. Native to much of the United States and North America (see range here), smooth sumac's berries have been an important food source throughout the continent for many thousands of years. The berries are eaten fresh for their tart flavor or dried and ground to season meats and vegetables. Sumac is also high in tannins, making the species a valuable material for dyeing fabric.

Gather the sumac berries in late summer, while fresh and "sticky." Dry berries will provide less flavor.

Our Nourishing Communities Intern, Anne, is helping local farmers and their customers connect with native foods by sharing her cooking experiences - each of these flavors and foods are new to Anne! Let's explore these amazing species together. Here, Anne documents her experience making sumac "lemonade" :

Sumac “Lemonade”

Ingredients:

6 cups cold/room temp water

1 cup warm water

¼ cup sugar

5-6 medium sized sumac clusters

Instructions:

Lightly rinse clusters of berries, being careful not to remove the "sticky coating" which flavors our lemonade.

Mix together sugar and warm water to create a slurry.

Combine the sweet slurry with the cool water.

Add the sumac clusters into the sugar water solution and lightly mush berries.

Put a lid on your mixture. Store in a cool place and let sit overnight.

The next day, use a slotted spoon to remove large clusters.

Strain the lemonade through a cheesecloth to remove residual berries and dirt. Strain multiple times, if necessary.

After your lemonade is well filtered, serve over ice and keep refrigerated. Optional Add-ins: Lavender simple syrup, lemon slice, and lemon zest/sugar rim.