SC - feast disasters and recovery

[Seton1355@aol.com]

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 sesemy 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