Title: za-atar-msg
Subject: A Middle Eastern spice mixture containing za'atar as a main ingredient.
Author: Edited by Mark Harris
Last saved by: Mark S. Harris
Keywords: medieval, za'atar, spice, mix, zaatar, thyme, hyysop

za-atar-msg - 7/24/06

A middle eastern spice mixture containing za'atar as a main ingredient. Za'atar is a member of the mint family and is similar to thyme.

NOTE: See also the files: spices-msg, herbs-msg, spice-mixes-msg, merch-spices-msg, sumac-msg, p-herbals-msg.

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Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2000 18:32:51 EDT
From: LrdRas at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - OOP  Lebane

phlip at morganco.net writes:
<< What's za'atar or Zaatar?
 
 Phlip >>

It is a middle eastern spice mixture containing ground sumac as a main 
ingredient. Lady Seton gifted me with some a few month's ago and, 
unfortunately it is gone and I have not been able to find more or a recipe 
that is coherent. ;-( Good stuff!

Ras

Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2000 19:03:12 EDT
From: Seton1355 at aol.com
Subject: SC - recipe for za'tar

Here is the recipe for za'tar.  

Phillipa

Za'atar

2 teaspoons oregano flakes
2 teaspoons basil, chopped up 
2 tablespoons ground thyme
1 teaspoon whole thyme
2 teaspoons savoury
2 teaspoons ground marjoram
1/2 teaspoons whole dry marjoram
1 tablespoon sumac (if available - see Middle Eastern store)
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
zest of two lemons, very finely minced

Blend together and use for Zataar flatbread. Makes a scant 1/3 cup.

Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2000 09:07:49 EDT
From: Seton1355 at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - za'atar

<< Interesting that you all seem to say that zahatar/za'atar is sumac.  
 Everyone here says it's hyssop (and that the other ingredients in the made 
 up stuff are chiefly sesame seeds - what else - and salt).  Hmm.  This needs 
 some investigating.  Will try to ask further at this end.
 
 Cairistiona >>

I'll bet that there are recipe variations.  But I got my recipe from an Iraqi 
Jew living in Jerusalem.....

Phillipa
I'd love to have some other variations.   (I;ll have to check with my 
Lebanese friend)

Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2000 08:37:49 -0700
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: SC - za'atar

>I'll bet that there are recipe variations.  But I got my recipe from an Iraqi
>Jew living in Jerusalem.....
>Phillipa
>I'd love to have some other variations.   (I;ll have to check with my
>Lebanese friend)

Za'atar is an herb, in the marjoram/oregano family. Za'atar is NOT sumac.

What is sold commercially is often blended with sumac and lightly 
toasted sesame seeds, but the base of the za'atar blend is za'atar 
herb.

As marjoram is much milder than the oregano we usually find, i would 
recommend using that if you want to make your own.

Anahita

Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2000 19:12:10 EDT
From: Peldyn at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - za'atar

Zatar
Thymbra spicata

Zatar tastes like hearty thyme and is famous in Arabic and North Afircan 
cooking.

A low growing shrub of the mint family.

Peldyn

Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 00:34:26 -0000
From: "=?iso-8859-1?Q?Nanna_R=F6gnvaldard=F3ttir?=" <nannar at isholf.is>
Subject: Re: SC - za'atar

>> Interesting that you all seem to say that zahatar/za'atar is sumac.
>> Everyone here says it's hyssop (and that the other ingredients in the made
>> up stuff are chiefly sesame seeds - what else - and salt).  Hmm.  This needs
>> some investigating.  Will try to ask further at this end.
>>
>> Cairistiona >>
>
>Za'atar is an herb, in the marjoram/oregano family. Za'atar is NOT sumac.
>
>What is sold commercially is often blended with sumac and lightly
>toasted sesame seeds, but the base of the za'atar blend is za'atar
>herb.

Miriam Al Hashimi, in Traditional Arabic Cooking, and Anissa Helou, in
Lebanese Cuisine, say zaíatar is thyme, but that the term is usually used to
refer to a blend of spice, containing thyme, wild marjoram, sesame seeds and
sumac. Al Hashimis recipe is:

1 part thyme
1/2 part wild marjoram
1/4 part roasted sesame seeds
1/8 part sumac

The Oxford Companion to Food says: "... the Arabic name for wild thyme,
commonly denotes a mixture of that herb with sumac, usually but not always
with toasted sesame seeds. Another ingredient can be the ground seeds of
Pistacia terebinthus, a relation of mastic ... Tucker and Maciarello (1994)
have drawn attention to the occurence of zaatar as part of the names of
several kinds of hyssop, thus:
Zaíatar rumi or franji (Roman or European hyssop), Satureja thymbra;
Zaíatar hommar or sahrawi (donkey or desert hyssop), Thymbra spicata;
Zaíatar farsi (Persian hyssop), Thymbra capitata"

Claudia Roden says in The Book of Jewish Food that zahtar is a mixture of
wild thyme, roasted sesame seeds, sumac and salt.
The rest of my Middle Eastern books are at my workplace but Iíll look
tomorrow and see if they can shed any further light on this.

Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2000 22:29:46 EDT
From: LrdRas at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - za'atar-OOP

Peldyn at aol.com writes:
<< Zatar- Thymbra spicata>>

OK. I am presuming that you are associating this word with za'atar. The 
references I have in all my middle eastern collection indicates that za'atar 
and zatar although both used are, in fact, distinctively different from each 
other and not used interchangeably. 
 
 <<Zatar tastes like hearty thyme and is famous in Arabic and North African 
 cooking.>>

Possibly. I do not have any cookbooks from Saudi Arabia. However, I have 3 
generalized North African cookbooks and I have not found it as an ingredient 
in recipes from either book. Perhaps it occurs in a more regionally specific 
cuisine? Which part of North Africa? Ethiopia, Egypt, Libya?

Za'atar has a distinct lemony flavor caused by the sumac which, contrary to 
posted information is the predominate ingredient (1 T compared to 1/2 to 1 
tsp of each of the other ingredients posted in the recipe). Both a Turkish 
friend and a Lebanese friend have told me that they are unaware of any 
za'atar recipes which contain zatar since this thread started. They do 
confirm the occasional use of zatar in home based cooking.

Zatar does NOT appear in any translated medieval middle eastern recipes that 
I can find while sumac appears with regularity.

This is a mystery but I am sure  that between the posters interested we can 
work it all out in the end. :-)

<< Peldyn >>

Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 15:37:17 EDT
From: Peldyn at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - za'atar-OOP

The book I have, Rodales Herbal Encycolpedia  says that zatar is combined 
with sumac and sesame seeds to make a seasoning.

It said that it is often spelled za'atar.

Peldyn

Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 20:00:15 CEST
From: "Christina van Tets" <cjvt at hotmail.com>
Subject: SC - zahatar

Hello the list!

I now have my packet of commercially prepared zahatar in front of me, and 
can copy the ingredient list:  Zahatar, sesame seeds, spices [cretins - why 
can't they name them?] salt, sumac, olive oil.

On further asking around here, people are still insisting that zahatar is 
hyssop.  They say that the recipe is different in other countries, but here 
apparently the correct thing to use is hyssop (which has left me even more 
confused than ever, as to my mind it couldn't be the same thing if you don't 
use zahatar/hyssop).

Cairistiona

Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 00:59:40 -0700
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: SC - za'atar

My previous remarks were based on getting za'atar in a Lebanese shop 
near me. In fact, because i recognized what it was, the owner *gave* 
me a small bag of the stuff. He said it was a blend of za'atar (or 
maybe zatar, i'm not yet sensitive enough to hear the difference), 
sumac, salt, and sesame seeds. Sumac alone had a different name, not 
like za'atar or zatar. I've gone back and bought more from him.

I also have a box a friend brought back from Israel that says in 
Hebrew zain-ayin-tav-resh (z'atr). It contains only herb and sesame 
seeds, no red sumac berries.

- -------

In "The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean" (1994), Paula Wolfert says:
p. 398
"ZA'ATAR AND ZA'ATAR BLEND
To clear up the confusion: Around the eastern Mediterranean, the word 
za'atar is used two different way: to refer to a class of herbs and 
to refer to a spice blend of za'atar and sumac.

Fist, the herbs. There are several varieties, bearing various names 
in various eastern Mediterranean languages, and they are so prized 
for their fragrant savory-oregano-thyme aroma that they are often 
called the "king of herbs." None of the recipes in this book call for 
the rarely imported herb za'atar; substitutes are
p. 399
always given. If however, you travel to the eastern Mediterranean, 
and visit some of its remarkable archeological sites, you may be 
approached by children offering to sell you bouquets of za'atar 
plants. There are so many different name and varieties, in so many 
different languages, that I offer only a few, for the true fanatic: 
kekik (Turkey); throumbi (Greece); za'atar rumi (Syria); nadge 
(Israel). If you purchase bouquets, dry them in your hotel room, then 
use after your return on meat and fish both before and after 
grilling. You will not be disappointed.

As for the spice blend za'atar, it is a mixture of sumac, sesame 
seeds, and one or more of the various za'atar herbs described above. 
It is part of a Middle Eastern breakfast dish of hot flat bread 
dipped in olive oil, then sprinkled with the mixture..."

" Mail Order for Live Plants: za'atar (Thymbre spicata); its 
substitutes "barrel sweetener" or thyba savory (Saturjea thymbra); 
oregano/hyssop (Origanum syriacum; and summer savory; Well-Sweep Herb 
Farm..."

p. 407: Well-Sweep Herb Farm, 317 Mount Bethel Road, Port Murray, NJ 
o7865. (908) 852-5390

- -------

In her earlier book, "Couscous and other good food from Morocco" 
(1973), which she wrote while living there, Wolfert says:
p. 29
"Za'atar (Origanum cyriacum). Za'atar is a sort of hybrid of 
thyme-marjoram-oregano. Use any of these three commonly available 
herbs or mix them and substitute for za'atar when called for in a 
recipe. Do not confuse it with the mixture of thyme and sumac that is 
sold as za'atar in some Middle Eastern markets."

Me: From what i can tell from a number of modern ethnic Moroccan 
cookbooks, only za'atar herb is used in the Maghrib, not the blend of 
za'atar herb, sesame seeds, and sumac that is used in Lebanon and 
Syria.

- -------

 From Claudia Roden, "A Book of Middle Eastern Food" (1968).
The author, an Egyptian, quotes the following from "Manners and 
Customs of the Modern Egyptians" by E. W. Lane, 1860:
p. 52
"A meal is often made by those who cannot afford luxuries of bread 
and a mixture called 'dukkah,' which is commonly composed of salt and 
pepper with za'atar or wild marjoram or mint or cumin seed, and with 
one or more, or all, of the following ingredients - namely, coriander 
seed, cinnamon, sesame, and hummus (or chickpeas). Each mouthful of 
bread is dipped in this mixture."

Me: In this case, za'atar is strictly the herb. By the way, Lane's 
book is still in print, by Dover.

- -------

Tess Mallos, in "The Complete Middle East Cookbook" (1979), says:
p. 394, "Za'tar [Note spelling. Are the differences among  za'atar, 
za'tar, and zatar due to Romanization or real differences in the 
Arabic written form or the pronunciation?]
A blend of powdered herbs, including thyme, marjoram and sumak [sic], 
with salt added. Sprinkle an oiled khoubiz before baking for a 
flavourful flat bread; occsionally used as a flavouring spice mix in 
cookd meat dishes. Za'tar also refer to the herb thyme."

- -------

My Moroccan cookbooks by Casablanca native Kitty Morse (don't let the 
name fool you) never mention za'atar by any spelling. Perhaps she 
dislikes the flavor...

- -------

So much for further clarification at least from my library.

Anahita al-shazhiyya

Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 18:49:59 -0000
From: "=?iso-8859-1?Q?Nanna_R=F6gnvaldard=F3ttir?=" <nannar at isholf.is>
Subject: Re: SC - za'atar

I asked an Israeli chef I•ve been in communication with about zaatar and
this is what he had to say - not sure if it clears anything up, maybe it
just adds to the confusion:

"Now for your qst. There are many mixups about the word Zaatar. Now that's
because that not only it has several meanings in arabic but israelies
changes it again to several others.
In arabic it's used to describe not one plant but a family. It include
hyssops variaties, thyme variaties, etc. For example thyme is "Zaatar -
romi"(roman zaatar), and oregano is "Zaatar ach'dar"(green zaatar) and so
forth. Zaatar can also be the name of hyssop or a varied mixture of herbs.
The mixture would usally contain three kinds of zaatar and sumak. The most
precious ingredient which gives the mixture it's saltiness is "Zaatar -
Parsi"(persian zaatar, I don't know it's english equlivent if there is).
It's a rare plant similar to wild thyme with purple flowers. In low quality
mixtures(and because the plant's protected) salt is added. In the case of
low level sumak(check gail's i posted an artcile about sumak) which gives
the lemony taste - lemon salt is added.
Other additions are seseme and olive oil. In older times "butaneg" was added
which is a relative of pistachio, but as far as i know this custom stopped
fifty years ago. Maybe some rural arabs still keep this tradition. Again'
i'm not sure but as far as i know this "butaneg" can be harmful if not used
correctly. I have'nt found much info on that so excuse me."

Nanna

Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 21:52:19 -0700
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: SC - za'atar

MORE on za'atar...

from Paula Wolfert's "Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean"

- ----- (begin quotes) -----
p. 61
ZA'ATAR PIE

"The taste of a za'atar mixture can be herbal, or nutty, or toasty. 
In the Middle Easter there are shops where za'atar mix is the only 
item sold. There are secret blends, some of which are quite 
wonderful. I purchased one in Aleppo but was never able to duplicate 
it; you can buy blends at most Middle Eastern markets.

"Israeli" is a pale green blend of pungent herbs that includes the 
biblical hyssop, along with toasted sesame seeds and sumac. The 
"Syrian" blend, the color or sand, has a decidedly toastey flavor. 
The "Jordanian" blend is dark green and very herbal, with some 
turmeric. All three blends can be purchased by mail order..."

p. 399:

Mail order for Dried Plain Za'atar: Shallah's Middle Eastern Importing Company

Mail Order for Israeli Za'atar Blend: Adriana's Bazaar

Mail Order for Jordanian and Syrian Blends: Kalustyan, Oriental 
Pastry and Grocery; and Shallah's Middle Eastern Importing Company

p. 406:

Adriana's Bazaar, 317 W. 107 Street, New York, NY 10025. (212) 877-5757
...
Kalustyan, 123 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10016. (212) 685-3451
...
Oriental Pastry and Grocery, 170-172 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 
11201. (718) 875-7687
...
p. 407
Shallah's Middle Eastern Importing Company, 290 White Street, 
Danbury, CT 06810. (203) 743-4181

- ----- (end quotes) -----

This may help explain some of the varieties in what those of us who 
have za'atar have, why recipes differ, and allow the scientific to 
purchase some for comparison purpose.

Anahita al-shazhiyya

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 22:59:17 -0500
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] looking for za'atar

I found one website that sells zaatar seeds.
http://inharmonyherbs.com/medseed.htm
They say its scientific name is Origanum syriacum.

Other websites, including these:
http://www.newcrops.uq.edu.au/listing/origanumsyriacum.htm
http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/database/engl-synonym-h-z.html
indicate that it is also known as Majorana syriaca

Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom

From: Shibl DAMMOUS [shizibzil at hotmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, April 28, 2002 10:20 AM
To: Mark.S Harris
Subject: Za'atar

Dear Sir,

Za'atar (Arabic) is any herb containing thymol and carvacrol and belonging  to either of the following genuses: Satureija, Thymus, Origanum, Coridothymus and Thymbra. Most are perennials.

For culinary purposes a particular balance in essential oils is desirable.
In Lebanon the standard against which any Za'atar is measured is the Za'atar par excellence: Origanum.syriacum (Arabic Zoub‚'a) also its hybrid with O.ehrenbergi (very rare because it only reproducible by cuttings). The reason is the typical fragrance which it is able to impart to Manaqish: a breakfast bakery product.
Next in quality is Thymbra.spicata (Arabic Za'atar akhdar).
Next is Satureija.hortensis (Arabic Za'atar zar'ah) an annual
Next is Satureija.montana a perennial which does not exist in the middle east.
Also usable but too perfumed are Satureija.thymbra and Coridothymus.capitatus.
We have tried with varying success using the many varieties of Origanum.vulgaris.

I suggest one should try, as we did, to compare the different species against the real McCoy.

There is also the other name Za'atar. This refers to a mixture containing the Za'atar plant. This varies to infinity. 

The mixture for Manaqish is as follows:
Origanum.syriacum 100
Rhus coriaria powder 50 (careful not to contain crushed seeds)
slightly roasted peeled sesame seeds 200
Salt to taste

Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2005 12:26:04 -0600
From: "ysabeau" <ysabeau at mail.ev1.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] middle eastern food questions
To: Cooks within the SCA  <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

I was looking at something else and found this at the Spice House:

Za'atar

This mixture of sumac, sesame seed and herbs is used frequently in
the Middle East and Mediterranean areas.

It is often mixed with olive oil and spread on bread; sometimes
this is done at the table, other times the mix is spread on the
bread rounds which are then baked. Za'atar also serves as a
seasoning to sprinkle on vegetables, salads, meatballs or kebabs.
Much like sausage seasonings, each country has a distinctive style
of Za'atar, and each family develops its own special blend. Our
particular blend is Israeli in style. Hand mixed from sumac,
thyme, sesame seeds, hyssop, and oregano.

<the end>

Edited by Mark S. Harris	za-atar-msg	Page  of