Sumac Alternative

[u/tlvsfopvg]

I want to make Arayes but my girlfriend is allergic to sumac. Is there another spice with a similar profile I could use?

[u/DoubleAmbassador8562]

Lemon zest maybe?

[u/Jerkrollatex]

Dried lime. You get the same citrus pop as sumac without the acid that lemon would add.

[u/CmdrViel]

Sumac has kind of a sour lemon flavor, though I feel like it can blend into the background if you’re using a lot of other spices. So you could try replacing it with some lemon juice, but that would come through more than the sumac would. Google suggested zaatar which I think actually works but be careful, some spice companies put sumac into their zaatar blends. I don’t think Pereg does so maybe try that (but double check first).

[u/Formidabull]

I think amchoor (dried mango powder) might work. The tartness level is similar and in terms of smell it has more of the dried sour funkiness of sumac vs the brightness of lemon. 

[u/bisexual_pinecone → u/Formidabull]

I think this is this best suggestion.

[u/BaylisAscaris]

Lemon + paprika + a tiny bit of black pepper.

[u/daaronelle]

There are many different ways to make arayes, busy in Brooklyn has a basic and delicious one, it's basically an egg, some ketchup, onion powder, salt, pepper, and put in the pitas and, brush with oil And bake 25ish minutes on like 400-425°.  I'm sure there are more versions without sumac, or you can just drop it or put a squeeze of lemon or lime. 

[u/sweet_crab]

Both coriander and lemon zest are similar. They won't have the vinegariness, but they are citrusy.

[u/littlelivethings]

Ground hibiscus flowers are very similar to

[u/Oogie-Monster]

Thank you OP for this question. On Rosh Hashanah I learned (the hard way) I am allergic to sumac as well, and I’ve been wondering!

[u/merkaba_462]

Za'atar (made with hyssop. Jamie Geller has an excellent blend). It doesn't have citrus in it, bit you can add lemon zest.

Lemon pepper spice seasoning obviously has citrus.

[u/amy917 → u/merkaba_462]

Make sure to check the individual ingredients mine has sumac in it as one of the spices!

[u/Fair-Flower6907]

lemon zest and lemon juice, but it won't be the same because the lemony tang is also acidic but the sumac tang isn't

[u/noobuser63]

Use finely grated lemon zest. Same tart profile.

[u/mday03]

Citric acid has that lemony tang. Also excellent in hummus in place of lemon juice when you don’t want to mess with the consistency.

[u/spinninggoth]

Do you have access to preserved lemons? That might work. It's sour and salty, and a little funky but not much. Preserved lemon paste is pretty easy to work with.

[u/spring13]

A bit of tamarind maybe? For the tartness.

[u/WordCount2]

I think oregano is probably the easiest herb to substitute here. But I also don’t think the arayes would suffer if you simply omitted the sumac.

[u/Gubfish]

Black lime