All three of za'atar, sumac and baharat are staples of the Palestinian kitchen.
Sumac is dried ground berries, sour and fruity, used to add a pop of tartness to food. Great with eggs, but its most famous application may be chicken for musakhan, Palestine's national dish.
Za'atar is a blend of dried wild thyme, sesame and sumac. It's herbal and nutty, and best friends with olive oil, with which it is often eaten for breakfast or a light dinner (zeit w za'atar). Also works incredibly well with labneh, chicken and vegetables.
Baharat is a warm spice mix consisting of seven different spices including black pepper, cinnamon, allspice, coriander, cumin, cloves and nutmeg. It's a seasoning fundamentally, and used in cooking rather than as a finish.
Sumac
Deep red - sometimes purple - coarse, and the only one of the three that is a single ingredient rather than a blend. It comes from the dried and ground berries of the sumac shrub.
Tastes like: sour and slightly fruity, with a tannic edge. Closer to dried cranberry than to lemon, though lemon is the usual flavour note cited.
What it does: adds acid and tartness without adding liquid - almost like a natural citric acid. It works well as you can sharpen a dish that would otherwise go soggy if you squeezed lemon over it.
Use it on: raw onion (sliced thin, tossed with sumac and salt, left ten minutes), fattoush, hummus, roast chicken, labneh, chips.
Buy small quantities. It fades noticeably after about six months and goes from bright to dusty.
Za'atar
A blend, and one that varies considerably between families and regions. The Palestinian and Shami version is generally built on dried wild thyme — the herb za'atar, which is a specific plant rather than the thyme in a supermarket jar — with toasted sesame seeds, sumac and salt.
Tastes like: herbal and savoury, with nuttiness from the sesame and a sour note from the sumac underneath.
What it does: it is a food item in itself but is sometimes used as a finishing seasoning that adds herbiness and earthiness. This is why it works on plain things: bread, oil, yoghurt, eggs. It brings its own distinct flavour.
Use simply mixed with olive oil or on. labneh, roast cauliflower or potatoes, fried eggs, grilled chicken, or with a melty cheese for a za'atar-cheese man'oushe, toastie, or even croissant.
The quality gap between good and bad za'atar is wider than for almost any other blend. Cheap versions bulk it out with dried oregano and wheat. If the sesame is not visible and the colour is dull green-brown rather than greyish-green, it is probably padded.
Baharat
Arabic for "spices", which tells you how loose the definition is. A warm blend of seven spices, typically black pepper, cinnamon, allspice, cumin, coriander, clove and nutmeg, with the proportions varying by region and household.
Tastes like: warm and earthy. A little goes a long way.
What it does: unlike the other two, this one is an actual seasoning and used in cooking. It needs heat and fat to open up. Sprinkled raw over a finished dish it tastes dusty.
Use it in dishes with strongly flavoured ingredients that it can stand up to, such as kofta and meatballs, slow-cooked lamb and lentils. It can also work with chicken however it's not commonly used on fish.
Start with less than you think. It is easy to overpower the dish with this!
The one distinction that matters
Sumac and za'atar are finishing seasonings. Baharat is a cooking spice.
That is the mistake most worth avoiding. Baharat needs time in the pan; the other two lose their character if you cook them. Za'atar in particular burns quickly because of the sesame, and burnt sesame is bitter in a way that does not recover.
Where shatta fits alongside them?
It does the job none of the three do, which is to add fresh heat and brightness.
Sumac gives you sour without heat. Za'atar gives you herb and a little sour. Baharat gives you warmth without either. A fermented chilli condiment sits across the gap, and it is why shatta ends up on the table next to any dish.
The simplest demonstration, and definitely worth trying. Good bread, labneh, extra virgin olive oil, za'atar and a spoonful of Bird's Eye Shatta on top. An easy and delicious breakfast, snack or light dinner that exemplifies the flavours of Palestinian cuisine.
Browse Shatta below 👇
