My Za'atar

[Logan]

This is a modification of the Lebonese Za'atar recipe from Silk Road. I toast un-hulled (brown) sesame seeds as I think it is better flavor wise, I omit the salt and I grind it into a powder as I am not partial to whole sesame.

• 6 tablespoon dried thyme
• 6 tablespoon sesame seeds toasted
• 4 tablespoon ground sumac

https://silkroadrecipes.com/lebanese-zaatar/

 

[MarcelNL]

is that all there is to Za'ater? wow, would never have thought that...all the ingredients are in house and of great qulaity, so why buy it.
Thanks for that 'Gedankenanstoss'

 

[Choppin]

I love zathar and had no idea it was made of these ingredients… need to try that recipe

 

[Logan]

is that all there is to Za'ater? wow, would never have thought that...all the ingredients are in house and of great qulaity, so why buy it.
Thanks for that 'Gedankenanstoss'

 

[Logan]

There are many different formulas and I'm sure there are better but this is very tasty and super easy. Sumac is pretty interesting stuff.

 

[MarcelNL]

Sumac is great stuff!
I knew it was a part of Zaátar but never knew the whole mix was this simple...just reinfirces that simple is usually good!

 

[Jovidah]

I love zathar and had no idea it was made of these ingredients… need to try that recipe

Because it's not. But in the west it usually gets butchered and made with alternate ingredients.

 

[sansho]

zaatar can refer to the herb ("thyme") and, more commonly, to the mix of zaatar, sesame seeds, sumac, and whatever else you like to put in it.

thing is, zaatar isn't thyme. it's a relative of thyme, but the taste isn't the same. you can make it with thyme if you have no other option, though. better than nothing. it ain't zaatar, though.

i know a thing or two about this as i have family from the region it comes from. one of my relatives has a pretty sweet garden over there including many wild-gathered specimens of zaatar, each with subtly different flavors.

if you're in the US, i can recommend a good supplier:

https://www.eatzaatar.com/collections/frontpage/products/zaatar-authentic-blend
i have no affiliation. but it is the best source i've personally found stateside. it rivals the better stuff i used to bring back myself from lebanon.

i'm open to trying other suppliers though, so if anyone has other recommendations, i'd like to hear it. i just stopped looking personally since i am satisfied with this stuff.

 

[Jovidah]

is that all there is to Za'ater? wow, would never have thought that...all the ingredients are in house and of great qulaity, so why buy it.
Thanks for that 'Gedankenanstoss'

No you don't have all the ingredients in the house.

thing is, zaatar isn't thyme. it's a relative of thyme, but the taste isn't the same. you can make it with thyme if you have no other option, though. better than nothing. it ain't zaatar, though.

Exactly. But in the west they usually make some kind of approximation mix with the herbs they already have in their supply chain.

 

[Captain Mack]

My understanding is that in the eastern Mediterranean there is considerable variation in terms of the specific herbs that go into za’tar mixes, depending on what grows locally. Much of the confusion stems from the fact that the word za’tar, when used as the name of a plant, can actually refer to different species. I think the za’tar herb used in Israel/Palestine is actually closer to hyssop than the thyme or oregano on western spice racks.

 

[sansho]

I think the za’tar herb used in Israel/Palestine is actually closer to hyssop than the thyme or oregano on western spice racks.

where is zaaar not that, though?

i've tried several wild-gathered zaatars, and they can look and taste a bit different, but none of them are that far off from each other. they could even be different genera (wikipedia claims Origanum, Calamintha, Thymus, and Satureja), but no clue since i'm not a botanist.

they are all fairly similar to each other though. zaatars i've had have always tasted way closer to each other than zaatar vs thyme or thyme vs oregano or something.

also, does anyone have a hot tip on zaatar suppliers? i still like the one i mentioned before, but doesn't hurt to try new things or have a backup supplier.

 

[Michi]

I’ve been using this recipe. It adds marjoram and a bit of salt.

 

[Captain Mack]

where is zaaar not that, though?

i've tried several wild-gathered zaatars, and they can look and taste a bit different, but none of them are that far off from each other. they could even be different genera (wikipedia claims Origanum, Calamintha, Thymus, and Satureja), but no clue since i'm not a botanist.

they are all fairly similar to each other though. zaatars i've had have always tasted way closer to each other than zaatar vs thyme or thyme vs oregano or something.

also, does anyone have a hot tip on zaatar suppliers? i still like the one i mentioned before, but doesn't hurt to try new things or have a backup supplier.

I’m no botanist either, and this is purely based off my very unscientific observations. I’ve travelled quite a bit in Egypt, Israel, and Turkey. I love visiting the spice markets! And I’ve definitely noticed differences (mostly based on smell) in the products sold as za’tar. Maybe not as extreme as the difference between eg thyme and oregano. But nevertheless detectable.

Based on reading some Wikipedia articles it does seem that the word za’tar can refer to different plants:

“The problems with identification arise from Jewish oral tradition where it expressly prohibits Greek hyssop, and where the biblical plant is said to have been identical to the Arabic word, zaatar (Origanum syriacum), and which word is not to be associated with other types of ezov that often bear an additional epithet, such as zaatar farsi = Persian-hyssop (Thymus capitatus) and zaatar rumi = Roman-hyssop (Satureja thymbra) and zaatar mani = calamint (Calamintha incana).”

Even ordinary oregano grows in the region and is known in Arabic as za’tar barri (wild za’tar):

“Another species identified as "wild za'atar" (Arabic: za'atar barri) is Origanum vulgare, commonly known as European oregano, oregano, pot marjoram, wild marjoram, winter marjoram, or wintersweet.[12] This species is also extremely common in Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Jordan, and Palestine, and is used by peoples of the region to make one local variety of the spice mixture.”

 

[chefwp]

I put it on pizza.

 

[sansho]

someone brought me back several jars of honey from a recent trip to morocco.
it's mostly unusual (to me) varieties, but this one stands out. it says thyme, but that's just the usual bad translation. the arabic actually says zaatar.

so that's cool, i guess. zaatar blossom honey. is it the same zaatar plant i'm used to? no clue lol
the honey smells herbaceous but not really like zaatar. but it's not like flower smells come through unmolested in finished honey's aroma anyways.

 

[Captain Mack]

View attachment 252531

someone brought me back several jars of honey from a recent trip to morocco.
it's mostly unusual (to me) varieties, but this one stands out. it says thyme, but that's just the usual bad translation. the arabic actually says zaatar.

so that's cool, i guess. zaatar blossom honey. is it the same zaatar plant i'm used to? no clue lol
the honey smells herbaceous but not really like zaatar. but it's not like flower smells come through unmolested in finished honey's aroma anyways.

Nice, I bet it’s delicious! What are the other varieties? Let me know if you need any help with reading the Arabic.