Rhus typhina/glabra — the fuzzy red berry cones of wild sumac, soaked in cool water into a tart, pink, vitamin-C-rich 'sumac-ade,' and dried as the lemony Middle Eastern spice. A free roadside drink and seasoning.
Sumac-ade was free summer refreshment off the roadside — a tart pink drink a child could make from the red cones in the ditch when there was no money for lemons or store drink mix. It is a vivid piece of survival foraging: turning a 'weed tree' into both a vitamin-C beverage and a seasoning.
Edible sumac berries are coated in tart malic and ascorbic acids — the sour 'lemonade' flavor is essentially vitamin C and fruit acids, making the cold infusion a genuinely vitamin-rich, hydrating drink. Sumac is one of the highest-antioxidant spices measured, dense in anthocyanins and tannins; emerging research links it to improved blood sugar and lipid markers. The cold infusion was a folk remedy for sore throat and fever, and a refreshing wild drink in the heat.
Gather the deep-red, upright berry cones in late summer (NOT the white drooping clusters of poison sumac). Soak the crushed cones in COOL water (hot water draws bitterness from the tannins), then strain through cloth and sweeten lightly — a pink, tart 'wild lemonade.' Dry and grind the berry coating for the lemony za'atar-style spice over meats and vegetables.
Free, no account needed to ask.