Aleppo za’atar

Za’atar is not one plant but a blend. The proportions change from city to city. The Aleppo mix carries the city’s name: dried thyme leaf, cumin and anise go into it. Aleppo has a long history in the spice trade, and the recipe for the blend settled at its counters over generations.

Where the sourness comes from

The defining part of the mix is sumac flower. It gives a natural sourness and stands in for the citric acid crystals used elsewhere; it is also what gives the blend its reddish colour. Some recipes back the sourness up with dried pomegranate seed. Toasted sesame, coriander and peanut appear in some mixes too, and the proportions change from one maker to the next.

How it is eaten

Most often at breakfast. It is stirred into olive oil and eaten with bread. In the bakery it is spread over manaqish dough, and that is the main morning business of a Syrian oven. It sits on the same plate as labneh and olives, with tea alongside.

Buying it

Take a pinch at the counter and crush it in your palm. In a good blend the thyme leaf breaks up but is not dust, the sumac is dry rather than damp, and the colour is a matt red. Bring it to your nose — cumin and anise come first, thyme after. Every herbalist in Aleppo sells his own blend, so there is no single Aleppo za’atar. Tasting at two or three counters before you buy is worth the time.