SC - za'atar

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

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.

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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

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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.

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 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.

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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."

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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...

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So much for further clarification at least from my library.

Anahita al-shazhiyya